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: This story starts about one month after That'll Do, Pig.
Don't Worry: Allow me to put your fears to rest. No matter what happens along the way, in the end, Rory & Jess and Luke & Lorelai will be together.
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"Mom?" Rory called as she entered her house after school.
She went to the answering machine and pressed Play. Hey babe, it's me. Michel's being an ass and we're overbooked, so I probably won't be home until dinner. I feel like Chinese - what about you? Let's go to Al's. See you later. I love you.
Well, now I can get my homework done without any distractions, Rory thought.
She spread it out over the kitchen table and got to work.
An hour later she was just finishing up when the phone rang. "Hello?"
"Hey," came Jess' voice.
Rory smiled into the phone. "Hey Dodger. What's up?"
"Nothing. I wanted to ask you something."
"Okay."
"You know that huge record store in Hartford?"
"Ziggy's? Yeah, Lane and I go there all the time. I love that place."
"Well, they're having this huge blowout sale or something. We could probably get some great deals, and I, uh, wanted to know if you want to go."
Rory grinned. "Of course I do. When is it?"
"Saturday."
"Great. It'll be fun."
"JESS!" Rory heard Luke yelling in the background.
"COMING!" he yelled back.
"Isn't it usually slow around this time? Why's Luke yelling at you?" Rory asked.
"Oh, uh, I don't know. I gotta go, okay? See ya around."
"Okay. 'Bye."
Rory hung up the phone, confused and excited. Excited because Ziggy's was a really cool place and Jess had actually called her on the phone to make it a date with her. But confused because of what had happened at the end. She knew Jess was lying to her. Why was Luke yelling at him? She wondered if Jess had gotten into trouble again. She hoped not.
Rory looked at her watch. Her mom wasn't going to be home for a few hours, and she had nothing else to do. She decided to head over to Luke's.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey Maggie," Jess said, coming over to her table.
He saw that Luke had already brought Maggie her usual tea. "Hello Jess."
"Read anything good lately?"
Maggie shrugged. "Not really. You?"
Jess sat down across from her. "I read this book for school. It was okay."
Maggie looked at him. "You read for school? What was the book called?"
"One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest."
"I've read that."
"You have?"
Maggie nodded. "I didn't like it."
"Why?"
"It was too anti-female."
Jess nodded. "Yeah, I'd have to agree with that."
Luke came over to the table. "Need anything else?" he asked, even though he knew she didn't.
"No. Thank you, Mr. Danes. To what do I owe the pleasure of having both of you here at my table?"
Jess looked around. "You're our favorite customer at the moment."
Maggie also looked around. "Also your only customer at the moment."
"Hey, I was trying to put a positive spin on things," Jess said.
Maggie smirked at Jess, and once again, Luke got the nagging feeling that there was just something about her he should know.
Noticing that Luke was still standing there, Maggie gestured to an empty seat with her hand. "Join us, Mr. Danes. We were just talking about a book Jess read for school."
"Call me Luke," Luke said gruffly, sitting down.
He turned to Jess. "You read a book for school?"
Jess looked uncomfortable, but nodded. "Good," Luke said, looking extremely pleased.
"Do you have to write one of those papers teachers always assign at the end of a book?" Maggie asked him.
"The teacher might have assigned a paper," Jess said casually.
"Are you going to do it?" Maggie pressed.
Jess shrugged. "Probably not."
"Why not?"
"Papers aren't my thing."
"Oh."
Maggie looked like she was going to say something else, but she didn't. "What?" Jess finally asked.
"Well, I guess I misjudged you. I thought you were one of those people who wants others to know your opinions on issues. You know, stand up for your opinions."
"I do."
"Oh."
"What?" Jess asked again.
Maggie looked at him innocently. "Well, I bet you're not one of those people who participates in class a lot. So how is your teacher supposed to know your opinions on the issues dealt with in the novel if you don't write the paper?"
Luke could tell that Jess was thinking about what Maggie had said. He admired the way Maggie got through to Jess. She always had Jess coming to her, not the other way around.
"Could I have some more tea, please, Luke?" Maggie asked, not giving Jess a chance to reply to her question.
Luke had to suppress a smile. Maggie always gave Jess something to think about, then jumped to a new subject as if nothing had happened. And it usually produced positive results.
"Coming right up," Luke answered.
He got up from the table to get Maggie her tea when he saw the door open and Rory enter. "Hey Rory," he said.
"Hey Luke. Can I have some coffee?"
"I guess."
He poured her the coffee, then made some tea. "Who's the tea for?" Rory asked.
"Maggie," Luke said, jerking his head in the direction of her table.
"Oh, I didn't even see her over there," Rory said.
She looked and saw Jess sitting at Maggie's table. They appeared to be deep in conversation about something. Grabbing her coffee, she followed Luke over as he brought Maggie her tea. "Here you go," he said, giving Maggie her tea and sitting down again.
Rory looked at Luke with ill-concealed surprise. He talked to Maggie too? This was the way he and Jess spent their afternoons? She couldn't wait to see what her mother made of that piece of information.
"Hi," Rory said, feeling a little out of place.
Both Jess and Maggie looked up. "Hey," Jess said with a smile.
Maggie also smiled. "Hello, Rory, dear. Please, sit down."
Rory sat down in the only empty chair at the table, which was next to Maggie and across from Luke. "We were just talking about One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest," Maggie told her.
"Oh, I remember reading that. I didn't like it."
"Neither did I. Jess just read it for school."
"You did?" Rory asked Jess.
Looking uncomfortable once again, Jess nodded. Rory gave him a big smile. "Did you like it?" she asked.
Jess shrugged. "It was okay."
"I hated the way Kesey portrayed the Big Nurse. It was like he was saying that women shouldn't be in power because they would become too fanatical and unreasonable," Rory said.
"And what about those other girls, the ones McMurphy snuck in to the ward?" Maggie added. "Ken Kesey portrayed the women in that books as either being cheap or cruel and powerhungry."
"Exactly," Rory agreed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ring the doorbell," Lorelai told Rory the next night.
They were in Hartford for Friday night dinner. "You ring it. Mom, you've got to get over this fear."
"I'm not afraid," Lorelai said, backing away from the door a step.
Rory rang the doorbell and grabbed her mother's arm. "Where do you think you're going, missy?" she asked Lorelai.
"Hello, my name is Sandy. How may I be of service?" the maid asked, answering the door.
"Well, Sandy, you could dress like a chicken and - "
"We're here to see my grandparents," Rory cut her off.
"Right this way."
"Behave!" Rory whispered to Lorelai as they followed Sandy. "We're trying to get out of next week's dinner, remember?"
"Oh yeah. Ah, the thought alone might be able to get me through the night. That and a couple of martinis."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Later that night, Rory and Lorelai were sitting at the dining room table with Emily and Richard. "So, Rory," Richard began. "Have you received any acceptance letters from any colleges yet?"
"No, Grandpa," Rory said.
"Oh. Well, I'm sure you will soon."
"Of course she will, Richard. Lorelai, please pass me the rolls," Emily said.
There was silence for a moment. "Uh, Mom, Dad," Lorelai began. "I have to tell you something."
"What is it?" Richard asked.
"Well, as I'm sure you know, next Friday is Valentine's Day, and Rory and I won't be able to make dinner."
"Why not?" Emily demanded.
"We have plans," Lorelai told her.
"Rory, I thought you broke up with that Dean fellow," Richard said.
"I did," Rory said, hoping against hope that they wouldn't ask her about Jess.
"So then what's the problem?" Emily asked.
"I'm, uh, going out with my boyfriend."
"You have a new boyfriend?" Emily asked. "How long have you been dating him?"
"Uh……a few months?"
"You've been dating this boy for a few months, and this is the first you've mentioned him?"
"Yeah, well, Mom, now you know, so, next Friday, we won't be here, 'kay?" Lorelai said, cutting her mother off.
Rory shot her a grateful glance, but that didn't deter Emily. "What's his name?" she asked Rory.
So much for having a peaceful dinner, Rory thought. "Jess," she answered.
"How many Jess's live in Stars Hollow?" Richard asked.
"Just one," Rory replied meekly.
"So you're telling me that this is the same one who broke your wrist? Lorelai, honestly, how can you allow this?" Emily exclaimed, upset.
"Mom, Rory can date whoever she wants."
"The car accident wasn't Jess' fault. There was an animal in the road, and - "
"This is unbelievable. Rory, we forbid you to see him," Richard said.
Lorelai stood up. "No, you don't. You can not forbid Rory to see him. They are dating, I'm okay with it, and therefore, you have to be okay with it. Come on, Rory, let's go."
"No, Lorelai, stop," Emily called after them.
Emily walked up to them. "Please, sit down and have dessert. We're not going to see you next week, don't leave early tonight. Not another word about - him."
Lorelai looked at Rory, who shrugged, so Lorelai turned and resignedly followed Emily. They quietly ate their dessert, no one saying a word, until Emily looked like she was about to burst.
"What is it, Mom?" Lorelai finally asked warily.
"What are you doing on Valentine's Day, Lorelai?"
"None of your business."
"Lorelai, you're my daughter. Of course it's my business."
"I have plans."
Emily looked at her skeptically. "I don't believe you. You're just making this up because you don't want to have dinner with us without Rory, aren't you? Honestly, Lorelai, sometimes - "
"I'm not making it up. I have a date," Lorelai lied.
"Oh? With who?" Richard asked.
Lorelai glanced at Rory, who raised her eyebrows at her. "With, um, Luke," Lorelai said, blurting out the first name that came to her mind.
Lorelai saw Rory's eyes widen and shot her a look. "The diner man?" Emily asked.
"Uh, yeah."
"Oh."
Emily went back to eating her piece of pie. "What do you mean, 'oh'?" Lorelai asked.
"Nothing. Just oh."
"Mom, just tell me. What aren't you saying?"
"Yes, Emily, what aren't you saying?" Richard asked, curious as well.
"Nothing. Just that it's about time."
Lorelai dropped her fork. "What?"
Lorelai heard Rory giggle, and glared at her. Rory quickly started coughing to cover her laughter.
"Oh, Lorelai, please. The man does everything for you. Who's the first one you call when something bad happens? Who came with you when Richard was in the hospital? He's obviously in love with you. From what I've heard, your whole town knows it."
"Mom, that is so - that's not true - what - n-n-no!" Lorelai stuttered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So - "
"I don't want to talk about it," Lorelai said.
Lorelai and Rory were driving home from Hartford. I can't believe I said Luke. Luke! Why didn't I just make someone up? Why did I use an actual person? And my mother, she's crazy! Where does she get these ideas? One day in the diner and suddenly she just knows that Luke's in love with me? That's ridiculous! Okay, so I do call Luke if I need help, but that's because we're friends. Friends do that. I call Sookie, too. Because she's my friend. Just like Luke is my friend. He's just my friend. Right? No, of course! Yes, right! He's my friend!
"Luke and I are friends," Lorelai told Rory.
"Uh-huh."
"I mean, yeah, I call him when I need help, but that's what friends are for."
"Right."
"My mother's crazy."
"Mmm."
"She spends one day in the diner, and suddenly she thinks she knows how Luke feels about me?"
"Hmm."
"Exactly. I mean, Luke and I are friends. There is no Luke feeling anything for me. I mean, except friendship. Because we're friends. We're good friends. You know, I think Luke is one of my best friends."
"Ah."
"Okay, stop! Just say what you want to say!" Lorelai said, turning to look at Rory.
"Mom, keep your eyes on the road," Rory told her.
There was silence for a moment, until Rory asked her mother a question. "What happened between you and Luke at movie night?"
"What are you talking about? I don't know what you're talking about. Crazy child. I think my mother's craziness is rubbing off on you. Poor thing. It's a good thing we're not going to dinner next week. You need to recover. Because - "
"Mom! Just answer my question."
"Well……we might have……we might have had a weird little moment."
"What happened?" Rory prompted.
"Well, I took his hat, and he chased me and tried to get it back, and I kinda got stuck in a corner, and…….." Lorelai trailed off.
"And what? Come on, you can't leave me there! Tell, tell!"
"Okay, okay, stop rushing me! So he cornered me, and I had his hat behind my back, and he reached behind me to grab it, and I kinda fell, and he caught me, and……I don't know, something just happened. I mean, we were really close, and then you called us."
"Oooh, bad timing."
"What do you mean, bad timing?"
"He was probably going to kiss you!"
Lorelai slammed on the brakes. "What?!"
"Mom, come on. Grandma was right. Everyone knows that Luke likes you. And I think you do, too."
"I do not! Luke is my friend," Lorelai said, stressing the word.
"Then how come you always flirt with him? How come he and Max were always fighting in front of you? It was because they both liked you, Mom. How come Rachel didn't like you? Because she knew Luke did. How come when you and Luke were in that fight, you got really sad?"
"Because he's my friend," Lorelai said in a smile voice.
"Cleopatra, it's time to stop. Listen to me. Luke. Likes. You. And I think you like him, too."
"I am not in denial!"
"Sure you're not. Let's just go home."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Mom, what are you doing? Jess is gonna be here any second!" Rory said, coming out of her room and walking in to the kitchen the next afternoon.
"So? I don't care if he sees me in my robe."
"You know, you're going to have to go into Luke's sometime soon. You can't avoid him just because you know the truth."
"Luke and I are friends! And you are not my child. My child would never be so cruel."
"Tough love."
"Call it what you want," Lorelai scoffed.
Lorelai looked at Rory. "You look nice," she told her.
"Thanks."
Rory was wearing jeans, a black shirt, and black shoes with a funky heel - "Hey! Those are my shoes!" Lorelai said.
"I need to borrow them."
"Okay. But then I get to borrow something of yours."
Rory and Lorelai heard the doorbell. "I'll get it," Rory said.
"Not getting rid of me that easy. I'm coming to the door too," Lorelai told her.
She opened the door, still in her robe. "Hiya, Jessie."
Jess smirked, looking at her. "Hiya, Lorie."
"RORY! I'M GONNA KILL HIM!" Lorelai shrieked.
Rory stuck out her arm to keep her mother from moving forward. "Mom, just breathe. In, out. Relax. Forget it ever happened."
Rory turned to Jess. "You're in trouble," Rory muttered.
"I have to go upstairs now and cry myself to sleep," Lorelai said.
"Okay, Mom. 'Bye."
"'Bye sweetie. Don't do anything I would do. And Jess, this time, just run the damn animal over!"
"Mom!" Rory exclaimed, embarrassed.
She quickly followed Jess out to his car, getting in to the front seat. "Do I even want to know why your mom was still in her robe?" Jess asked as he started the car.
"She's in denial."
"About what?"
Rory sighed. "Okay, you can't tell anyone, especially Luke."
"Right, because Luke and I tell each other everything."
Rory smacked him on the arm. "Hey, be careful, I'm driving," he said.
"Then be nice. We were at my grandparents' house last night for dinner, and we told them we couldn't come to dinner next week because we had Valentine's Day plans."
"Uh-huh."
"So of course, being my grandparents, starting asking us a million questions. Oh, they know I'm dating you."
"That must have been a nice shock for them."
"Yeah, well, at least they haven't asked to meet you yet."
"They're going to want to meet me?"
Rory shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe. Well, yeah, probably. Anyway, Grandma called Mom on her bluff, so Mom had to tell her who she had plans with on Valentine's Day."
Rory paused. "And?" Jess asked, looking at her sideways.
"She said she had plans with Luke."
"Huh. You think he'd tell me. I mean, we tell each other everything."
"Jess! This is serious. Anyway, Grandma told Mom that it was about time, because everyone knows that Luke is in love with her, and Mom kinda started freaking out."
Jess smirked, and Rory continued. "And then on the ride home, she kept talking about how crazy Grandma was, but I told her that Grandma was right and that everyone does know, and then she really freaked out, and - "
Rory stopped and looked out the window. "What?" Jess asked.
"On movie night, my mom and Luke had a moment."
"A moment?"
"Yeah. They almost kissed."
"Wow. That is a moment."
"Yeah."
"How come they didn't?"
"Because that's when I called them back to the living room! Stupid, stupid!"
"Hey, you didn't know. Don't call my girlfriend stupid. It's bad for my image."
Rory smiled a little, then sat straight up in her seat. "Oooh, we're here!" she said excitedly.
Jess parked the car, and the two of them walked out. "Where do you want to start?" he asked her.
"Hmm……..let's see if I can find the Clash."
"Okay."
Jess put his arm around Rory's shoulders as they walked. "Oooh, Cornershop!" Rory said, stopping.
"Rory?" she heard a voice behind her.
Rory turned around. "Lane!" Rory exclaimed. "You got to come!"
"My mom thinks I'm doing volunteer work for the church."
"I see. Hey Dave," Rory said.
Dave was standing next to Lane. "Hey Rory."
"Um, you guys know Jess?"
Dave nodded. "Hi," Lane said.
"Hey," Jess said shortly.
"What are you looking for?" Lane asked Rory.
"The Clash. But Lane, look, Cornershop!"
"Oooh, let me see!" Lane said, excited.
Rory and Lane started talking excitedly, leaving Dave and Jess. "So," Dave said.
There was a silence. Maybe you should make an effort, Jess told himself. But with this loser? He probably doesn't even like good music.
"Whatcha got there?" Jess asked Dave, gesturing towards the albums Dave was holding.
"Iggy Pop and the Stooges, Television, and Black Flag."
"Really? I like all of those," Jess said, sounding extremely surprised.
Who knew that this loser had good taste in music? Jess thought.
"Yeah? What else do you like?" Dave asked, sounding genuinely interested.
"Operation Ivy, Rancid, Sex Pistols………."
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"That was fun," Rory said to Jess as they were driving back to Stars Hollow.
"It actually wasn't too bad," Jess said.
He and Rory had ended up spending the afternoon with Lane and Dave, and Jess had actually found that he could talk to them about music.
Rory laughed. "I thought you and Lane were going to kill each other for a second, there," she said.
"That was not my fault," Jess said defensively as he pulled into the Gilmore driveway. "How was I supposed to know how touchy she was about Belle and Sebastian?"
"I know. It was fine. She calmed down," Rory said.
She couldn't stop smiling. Jess took the keys out of the ignition. "What are you smiling about?" he asked, turning to face her.
"Today was really good," Rory said.
"Yeah. Today was really good," Jess repeated, leaning forward to kiss her.
They kissed and when they pulled apart, Rory banged her arm on the dashboard. "Ow!" she cried out.
"Aw, poor baby," Jess said with a smirk.
Rory opened the car door and got out, then walked to the other side of the car and opened Jess' door. "Come on," she said, pulling on his arm.
"Where are we going?" he asked, getting up and closing the car door behind him.
"Inside, where we can kiss without me hurting myself. My mom's not home."
Jess followed Rory into the house. "Want something to eat?" she asked him.
"No," Jess said, sitting down on the couch.
"Okay."
Rory sat on the couch next to him. Jess wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer, then kissed her. Lorelai wasn't home, so they didn't have to worry about anyone suddenly interrupting.
Jess ran his tongue along Rory's bottom lip, demanding entrance, and Rory complied. She opened her mouth and her tongue dueled with Jess' before her hands started to wander. She ran a hand slowly up his arm, liking the feel of his muscle under her hand. She continued upwards and, reaching behind his neck, played with his hair.
Rory moaned as Jess started kissing her neck. He smiled at the sound, then moved back to her lips, which he could never resist. His kisses were hard and demanding, but Rory always matched them with her own kisses, something which had surprised Jess in the beginning.
But he was used to it now, and his own hands started to wander. He lightly ran a hand down Rory's side, then slipped a hand under the front of her shirt. She didn't protest, and pressed herself closer to him. Sometimes he found it hard to believe that Rory actually went this far with him, but he was too busy enjoying it at the moment.
Suddenly Rory pulled away. "I hear my mom's car," she said breathlessly.
Jess reached for the remote and turned on the TV, and they both tried to steady their breathing and appear nonchalant.
"Rory, I'm - oh hi," Lorelai said, coming in the door and seeing Rory and Jess sitting on the couch.
She eyed them, then smirked. "Like I don't know what you were doing."
"Mom!" Rory exclaimed.
Lorelai waved a hand. "Relax, offspring. Did you guys have fun? Not too many details, please," Lorelai said, plopping down on a chair in the living room.
"Yeah. We ran into Lane and Dave there," Rory told her.
"Lane was there?"
"No, she was doing volunteer work for her church."
"Okay. Gotcha."
Rory glanced at Jess, then looked back at Lorelai. "Mom, we're gonna go," she said.
"'Kay. Dinner?"
"Luke's," Rory said firmly.
"But - "
"Yes."
"What if - "
"No."
Lorelai pouted. "You're mean!"
She pointed a finger at Jess. "It's your fault she's mean."
"My fault?"
"Yes. She's your girlfriend."
"She's your daughter."
Lorelai giggled. "Actually, Rory, there's something I've been meaning to tell you," she began.
Rory rolled her eyes and Jess smirked. "Goodbye, Mother," she said, walking out the door with Jess.
"'Bye honey!" Lorelai called.
Lorelai was about to go upstairs when the phone rang. "Hello?"
"Lor? It's me."
"Chris. Hi."
"I wanted to - is Rory there?"
"No."
"Oh."
"She should be back later, if you just want to call then," Lorelai told him.
"No, I can't later. I just wanted to tell her that she has a new baby sister."
Lorelai sat down on the stairs. "Oh."
"Yeah. Sherry had her this morning."
"Did she really name her Georgia?" Lorelai asked.
"Yeah. We're calling her Gigi."
"Oh. Well. Okay. I'll tell her."
"Okay. Well, uh…….."
"'Bye Chris."
"Goodbye Lorelai."
Lorelai clicked the phone off, then just sat there staring at it. This was it. Chris had his new family now. Pretty soon he and Sherry would be getting married.
Shouldn't I feel weirder about all of this? Lorelai wondered. It was a bit of a shock now that the baby had actually been born, but she was quickly getting over it. I guess I really have moved on. A part of me will always love Chris, but that's because he was my first love and he's Rory's father. I'm really, really ready to move on.
Lorelai stood up, proud of herself. She really was ready to move on.
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Author's Note: Review, review, review! Do a little dance…….make a little love…..review tonight……..okay, sorry, that was lame. Oh, and you can always email me at LuckyJ525@aol.com with your comments on the story.
Coming in Chapter 6……..It's Valentine's Day! What will Rory and Jess end up doing?