Previously in "I am the Tower Around Which You Orbited: Sometimes the beauty starts to die"

I ran inside, smiling, when I noticed Rory standing there, shocked. I looked over her shoulder and saw what she was staring at.

"Hi, Mom."

Chapter Ten: View from the Bathroom Floor

"Rory… why do you look like you just got out of the water before Jaws could get you?"

"Because… I fell in the lake."

"And Jess, did you also fall in the lake and get attacked by Jaws?"

"To be quite honest, it was more of the latter."

"Now is no time for your sarcasm, mister," she said, getting up from her seat. "So, um, how did you fall into the lake?"

"Well, see, I tripped on the bridge, and Jess…"

"Actually, Lorelai, I pulled her in," Rory looked at me as if she was about to say, 'What the hell are you doing?' I just sent her a look trying to say, 'Tell her.' She got the message. Lorelai just looked at us quizzically.

"You… pulled… her… in?"

"Yeah, he did. It's kind of a long story."

"Oh, I have time. Believe me, I have time." Lorelai just looked from Rory to me back to Rory and to the puddles forming around our feet. Rory just kind of looked at me, somewhat pleadingly, and I was trying to come up with a reasonable excuse for asking her to push me in.

"So, what, Jess? Did you just decide to jump in and take my daughter with you? Were you trying to impress her with a machine that goes BING?"

"I wouldn't phrase it that way, but, uhm… I guess?" Lorelai just looked at me and nodded.

"Uh huh."

"Really Mom, it's not that big of a deal. Seriously. It was just us fooling around. He pulled me in a lake. So what? I mean, I made him come to dinner with me to Grandma's, right? So, it was, I don't know… payback."

"So you were pulled into a lake."

"Almost as bad…" she said nervously.

"Jess…" Lorelai started. I looked up at her, feigning innocence. "Why don't you let me talk to my daughter in private, okay?"

"Fine."

"Mom…" Rory said in protest.

"No, Rory, it's okay. You should have to talk to your mom. I'll go." I kissed her cheek and Lorelai glared at me as I stepped outside and walked down the porch a little bit. But I stopped to catch the rest of their conversation.

"Rory, I don't know what got into you! Why did you think that jumping into a lake with Jess was even remotely a good idea?"

"I don't know Mom. As we have both said, he pulled me in, I didn't jump in on my own."

"Oh, but from the look of your face, I can tell that you're very glad that he pulled you in so, why don't you tell me what's been going on between the two of you?"

"It's the same as always. Jess is my boyfriend. I like spending time with my boyfriend."

"In a lake?"

"Yes."

"Rory, it's not that I don't want you to spend time with Jess because as much as I dislike him, I really want you to be happy but, are you guys getting serious about…"

"Mom…" she complained.

"I would like to know. I mean, yes, you did tell me how you feel, but I was food-deprived and I don't exactly remember the entire conversation. Quite obviously he's a guy so he's thinking about it all the time, but just tell me what is going on."

"What do you want me to tell you, Mom?"

"What you two were really doing in the lake, for starters."

"He fell in, and pulled me with him. That's all."

"That is so not all."

"If you already know what happened, why are you asking me. I mean, quite obviously you are omniscient."

"He gave you a little mouth-to-mouth resuscitation?"

"Well, I suppose, if that's what you'd want to call it, then yes."

"How much?"

"What?"

"How far did you go while in the lake?"

"We kissed, mom. In the middle of a lake. There's not much else you can do."

"Oh, there's plenty else you can do."

"How would you know?"

"I've seen movies. You know, where the girl jumps in with no clothes on and the guy follows and they make out in the middle of some body of water clothingless and then a giant snake eats them or something."

"You've gone completely insane. I'm finished with this conversation." I heard a door slam, quite clearly the one to Rory's room.

"Rory…" Lorelai begged through the door. Rory didn't answer and Lorelai didn't press. All was quiet in the Gilmore household, and there I was, dripping on the porch. Then, I realized that I was still standing there like an idiot and, as quietly as possible, snuck off back to the diner.

THE END of chapter ten

again, short, but I said what I wanted to. lucky you, you get two updates before promised. so, anyway, I'm working on a fic including my character of Chrysalis, so enjoy this and wait for the next one.