A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews. They were much appreciated, especially those of you who gave constructive criticism — you know who you are! Anyway, like I said, remember the dinner invitation to Luke and Jess? If you don't, this chapter will remind you . . .somewhat.

On with the story . . . .

The older man, forever clad in flannel and his trusty backwards, blue baseball cap, nervously rang the doorbell. It was quite obvious that the thin teen standing next to him did not want to be there. She stood there, arms crossed and hip jut out. Her white tank top fell just above her pierced navel, and you could see her hip bone protruding. Then again, her body language was the only indicator of her exact mood. Her arms said, 'when do we leave?' Her blue eyes said, 'I'm extremely uncomfortable right now.'

"These people are really nice, okay," Luke began hopefully what would not seem like a lecture, " Lorelai invited us out of the goodness of her heart. Try not to say anything rude. If you feel like saying something out of turn, just zip it!"

"Thank you for that Mayberry moment, Andy."

Luke just sighed, completely exasperated.

Lorelai then came to the door. "Hey you two!" She said with extreme cheerfulness. Rory could tell immediately that it was all a facade.

"Thanks for inviting us, Lor." Luke replied, politely.

"No problem. So, Rory, how are you?"

She rolled her eyes. "Peachy-keen, jelly bean! How're the rest of the Pink Ladies?" She matched Lorelai's faux blithe with sarcasm, her greatest defense mechanism.

"Just great! Later, Me, Jan, and Marty are gonna head down to the Frosty Palace for an Eskimo Pie. You should come!" Nobody could top Lorelai when it came to movie references.

She already hated this woman. Rory inwardly told herself she could so top her later while Luke just stood there uncomfortably.

"Can we come in?" He finally broke the silence.

"Sure, Sookie's coming with dinner. You know I can't cook. Come on in." They followed her into the living room, "Jess, honey, Luke and Rory are here!" She turned her attention back to them. "So, just make yourselves at home. You wanna drink? Pick your poison."

"Iced tea." "Vodka."

This girl was challenging her. Lorelai knew it. "One iced tea and one soda coming up. Nice try, Ally Sheedy! You got any more surprises for us. Dandruff problems, covered bridge fetish,? You're not a nympho, are you?"

She sneered " I could ask you the same thing. Pregnant at sixteen? That's impressive!"

Lorelai's eyes dilated. That was one thing that she did not talk about. Luke just glared at her.

Rory just matched his glare, but then, making herself completely at home, walked through the swinging door into the kitchen.

"Sorry about that, Lorelai. She's really incredulous about everything right now. Her mother kicked her out. Just give her a few days. She'll warm up."

Lorelai smiled warmly. "It's fine. Don't worry about it. Let's just get ready to eat. Sookie should be here any minute." She then went into the kitchen to find Jess sitting at the kitchen table.

"Hey, Kiddo. Did Rory come through here?" She asked.

"If she did, I didn't see her. Is Sookie here with the food yet?"

"I'm expecting her any time now. Go into the living room and keep Luke company while I get things ready in here, 'kay."

"Sure."

As her son left, she went out the back door leading to the porch to find a very familiar sight. Rory just stood there quietly, sipping a Miller Light. She then pulled a pack of Marlboro lights out of the pocket of her leather jacket she wore over her white tank top, the same grungy jeans, and black Chuck Taylors on her feet. After taking a cigarette out, she place the almost empty pack back in the pocket. Lighting it, she took a long and drag, fingers shaking nervously much like a Parkinson's patient. Lorelai instantly felt a pang of de-já-vù. She had definitely been there before.

"Who would've thought? You brought me a beer. That was awfully kind of you!" Lorelai exclaimed, moving beside her and slipping the amber long-neck from her thin fingers.

"That's what I tell myself every morning when I get out of the bed. A little kindness goes a long way." She opined, taking another drag.

"I'm gonna be blunt with you," she took the cigarette from her mouth, putting it out on the deck with the heel of her shoe, "first of all, you're too young to be smoking. Second, Luke may not see through your little bad girl image, but I do. I know it like the back of my hand. You may not believe this, but I was you. You said so yourself. I got pregnant at sixteen, remember? I was just . . ."

"Listen, Lorelai! That's your name, isn't it? Lorelai? Well, no matter how hard you try to relate to my situation. You can't! Uncle Luke told me what you grew up with. Yep, a silver spoon in that quippy, little mouth of yours. You don't know a damn thing about me! So save the reverse psychology for your own kid, June Cleaver!"

She angrily marched back into the kitchen, but not before running into Sookie St. James with an armful of groceries from Doose's Market.

"Hi, you must be Rory! I'm Sookie!"

She said nothing and kept walking. Her rage eventually brought her to a room off the kitchen. It obviously belonged to a teenage boy. She gazed around, hitting the highlights — hockey equipment, blue ribbons from science fairs, and a bulletin board covered with the book store's entire stock of Harvard memorabilia. Her eyes finally stopping in front of a gigantic book shelf, filled to a maximum with paperbacks and hard-covers alike. Her fingers glided across spine after spine, extremely intrigued.

"What are you doing?" A voice queried, in the silence of the dimly lit room.

"My, aren't we Hooked on Phonics?" She dead-pannned with a smile. Jess quickly noted that this was the first time he had seen this girl smile.

"You like to read?" all the while, his mind wondering and fearing at the same time what her response would be.

"Nah, not much." She replied, her fingers still drifting until they stopped curiously on his copy of Howl. Without even asking, she removed it from the shelf and studied its front and back covers. "This any good?"

Jess raised his eyebrows. "Sure, if that's what you like," he looked at her skeptically, "I don't see you liking it too much."

"Really?"

"You can borrow it . . .if you want. I mean, you don't have to, but I don't mind." His head pondered over the idea of whether he would see his book again.

"Great. I suppose I can read a book. I mean, reading is supposed to be fundamental, right?"

"Right. I hope you like it. There's more where that came from."

She chuckled. " I doubt I'll make it through this one,"

There was a pregnant pause. Again, Jess dully noted that he had yet to hear her laugh, either.

She then made a rash statement, "You wanna get out of here?"

"What?"

"I was going to sneak out. I wanted some company."

"What are we going to do in Stars Hollow?"

"You can give me the tour." She suggested.

"At night?"

"I don't know the place. Like you said, it's dark. I might run into a lamp post or something."

He chuckled, despite himself. God help him, but she said something, and it actually made him laugh.

"Are we gonna be back for dinner?" He asked.

" Sure, whatever you want."

"Fine, let me get my jacket."

Without a word, the two slipped out the back door, and before either of them knew, they were standing in the street between Luke's Diner and the gazebo.

"So," he said breaking the comfortable silence, " you're from New York?"

"Born and raised."

"Wow, Stars Hollow must be different."

"Yeah. Really different, especially size wise. Stars Hollow is as far as I can tell the size of Ellis Island."

He smiled. "It's very quaint. A little weird. You probably haven't even met all the townspeople, have you?"

"I got here last night."

"Yeah, well, stay away from Taylor, he hates Luke, and the guy that talks to mailboxes."

"Jeez, the post office is tainted for me, now. Damn, and I was just getting over my irrational fear of mailmen." She dramatically snapped her fingers for effect.

Jess laughed. "You might wanna reconsider that fear. Kirk can be quite scary sometimes."

"Mailman?"

"Yep, and repairman, plumber, security guard, runs the beauty supply store . . ."

"He's just a one-man-band, huh?"

"Basically, with cats though."

"Stay away from the crazy guy with stamps, plunger, and nail polish. Right. Dully noted."

She had made him laugh again. She was three for three. " Anyway, thanks for the walk. I gotta go."

"I thought you were gonna eat dinner. Sookie's a really good cook. I mean, Emeril Lagasse can eat his heart out."

She smiled. "Sounds tempting, but I can't. I gotta unpack. I need some time to think without Luke," She then pulled a book out of the bag she had been carrying and tossed it to him. It was Howl "Thanks anyway. Books and me just don't mix. See ya, Gilmore." She turned and started towards the Diner.

He fumbled with the thin paperback in his hand. He noticed some wear and tear in the binding that wasn't there before. Curiously, he thumbed through the pages, which had obviously been read a number of times. In many of the margins, he noticed a small, feminine script. The same handwriting was on almost every page. He turned back to the inside cover, and in the top-left corner it read: Property of: RAM. He smirked to himself, she was the biggest liar he had ever met. Smiling, he shuffled back to his house for dinner.

When he opened the front door, he heard his mother.

"Jess?" Lorelai called.

"Hey." He answered, entering the living room to find Lorelai, Sookie, and Luke.

"Where's Rory?" Luke Danes interrogated.

"She left." He replied nonchalantly, a wide grin still plastered across his lips.

"Where did she go? I cooked!" Sookie exclaimed, always insulted that someone would not want to eat her food.

"Back to the Diner."

Luke huffed. "That little sneak! She's gonna get it."

Lorelai looked at him skeptically, "Where have you been?"

He jumped, skittishly. "I tried to stop her. She wouldn't listen. I finally gave up and came back." he actually lied to his mother for this girl. He never lied to his mother.

"Let's just eat. Luke give her some time." Lorelai suggested.

"I'm starved. Let me go put this book in the shelf."

He sauntered to his room, and hastily, put the book in the shelf, just where she had removed the other copy. He then went to the kitchen to eat.

Well, what did you think? I told you it would be longer. It was also a little different than their first meeting on the show, but that's the whole point, I guess. I hoped you liked it. Please R/R! Any type are welcome. Suggestions are welcome too. I'm still quite unsure of how I am going to spin this tale; so, your help is much appreciated. Peace and love-moi!