I'm thinking I'm going to put AGitL on hold for a bit. It started to bore me…and it's starting to sound cheesy. I think I might even reconsider finishing it. I finally saw Star Wars, and it was great! I am a chick, but I am a total Star Wars nerd. I think I'm a little more obsessed than normal. Anyway, happy reading.

oooooooo

"Well Lorelai, where is she?" Emily asked, storming into the diner and tossing her purse to the counter.

"Mom!" Lorelai choked out while struggling to swallow. "What are you doing here?"

"Well you've finally done it Lorelei; you've managed to keep your daughter away from us. Are you happy?"

"Mom-"

"I mean, I shouldn't be surprised, I wouldn't put it past you... really Lorelai! I know that you think you know what is best for that girl, but for once you should let her make her own decisions," Emily continued on, finally beginning to settle down. "Well at least let her come pick up her things would you? She packed them, but the boxes are still in our pool house."

"Are you talking about Rory?"

"No…your other daughter. Of course I'm talking about Rory," Emily spat.

"I don't have Rory," Lorelei replied slowly, hatred evident in her tone.

"Well where is she? I know you know, Lorelai."

"No, Mom, I don't know. Wasn't she supposed to live with you?" Lorelai asked, sarcastically.

"You really don't know where she is?" Emily asked again, her voice changing from irate to perplexed.

"Nope," Lorelei concluded again before finishing he coffee and stalking out of the diner. Emily struggled to keep up with her brisk pace.

"Then you might want to know… she left," Emily admitted. Suddenly Lorelai started giggling. She was laughing so hard, to be exact, that she had to stop and catch her breath before continuing on to her house. "Well what on earth could you possibly find amusing?"

"Nothing," she squeaked. They reached the house and Lorelai abruptly stopped on the lawn. "Look Mom, I don't know where she is."

"Well-"

"I don't know!" she screamed, sprinting into her house and locking the door.

oooooooo

Dear Grandma and Grandpa,

I'm sorry if I scared you or worried you, I didn't mean to. I cant stay with you; I guess I better say that up front. I can't take a year off of college to find myself while living there. I can't tell you where I am, because I can't find myself with people looking for me either. Please know that I am safe and warm and have a place to live. I need to do this entirely on my own. This choice was mine. It was in no way influenced by my mother or anyone else, so please don't confront her about it. I'm not in Star's Hollow, so don't go looking for me there. I do plan on going back to school in a year after I've straightened some things out. Please don't worry about me. I'm not running away, and I would like to be able to pick up some of my stuff, if you wouldn't mind. I wish you the best, and I hope that I can see you soon.

Love,

Rory

After reading and rereading the letter, Rory carefully folded it and slipped it into the envelope. She addressed the letter to her grandparents, and signed the return address to her mom's. She tucked it in her purse, planning to mail it on her way to work. She got a job a café waiting tables. Her tips were good, and she realized that her appearance was making her money. Jess knew it too, and, for some unexplainable reason, it bothered him.

Their relationship was still somewhat undefined. They spent most of their spare time together, moping around the city. Usually they ordered take out. They mocked themselves as the most boring twenty-something's in New York City. Sometimes they would go to bars and drink, other nights not. Sometimes one of them would leave for hours on end without notifying the other, and sometimes they acted more like a deeply in love couple.

Today Jess was in a bad mood, spending most of the day holed up in his room, doing God knows what. Today Rory was moping, eating too much ice cream and watching too many old movies. She'd taken to making sandwiches, and was prone to buying thins just to make more variations. She made them for herself and Jess, enjoying the simplicity and uniformity of the process it took to create them. Now it was a little after one, and Rory had already watched Love Story, Shattered Glass, and was ready to watch Star Wars: A New Hope.

The air-conditioner had been broken for four days now.

"Come in," he answered to the gentle knock on his door.

"It's hot," she complained, slipping in through the door, closing in quietly behind her. He didn't say anything, but continued to stare down at the notebook on the floor in front of him. "Come watch Star Wars with me?"

He looked up at her for the first time. "Where have you been?"

"On the couch," she replied, waving her hand over her shoulder, motioning towards the living area. She sat down on the floor across from him, holding out the carton of ice cream she had been eating. "Ice cream?" she offered the spoon to him. She smiled naively, and he took a spoon full. "Please?"

"Please what?"

"I've been lonely," she revealed. "You're always in here."

"Which one?" he asked, switching subjects.

"Number four…Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher. You can't beat that," she laughed, offering him a smile.

"I'm not a big Star Wars fan," he professed, disappearing into the other room. He started the movie, settling into the couch, and she snuggled next to him, resting her head on his chest, feeling somewhat sociable and dejected today.

"What do you do all day in there?" she ventured, not sure if she wanted to know the truth or not.

"I'm not in there all day everyday, you know. I have a job, I go to work," he replied hesitantly. "And nothing."

"Oh."

"What do you do all day out here?" he inquired. His tone was harsh, but his embrace was gentle. She felt at ease.

"I go to work too," she countered. "I watch movies, read, make sandwiches. I'm bored most of the time." She let her focused her attention on him, ignoring the flight of the Millennium Falcon, Luke, and Obi Wan for the moment being. "I miss you," she whispered, barely audible.

His face softened, and he knew that he had been purposefully rejecting her over the last week. "It's storming," he acknowledged after a thunderclap caused her to flinch. She shivered but ignored him. "It's good because the rain cools down the air outside and windows so, even though the air conditioner's off, it's still cool in here," he continued. Finally he had broken under the weight of her silence and indifference. "It's weird now that you're here."

"I got used to it. Why haven't you?" she asked, failing to hide the hurt.

"I never understood why Obi Wan just lets Darth Vader kill him here."

"Don't you want to be happy, Jess?"

"I don't think it's going to be that easy, Rory."

oooooooo

"Emily, I think you better take a look at this," Richard called to his wife. She quickly came, gallantly following his voice.

"What is it Richard?" she inquired curiously.

"Why, it's a letter from Rory."

Silence passed by, until Emily impatiently attempted to catch a glimpse at the message. "Well…what does it say?"

"She says that she's alright, she's safe, and she's found herself a place to live-"

"Oh thank God," Emily began.

"It also says that this decision was not in anyway affiliated with or influenced by Lorelai, that she is not in Star's Hollow, and that she is still planning to return to school next year," he finished.

"It doesn't say where she is?" Emily questioned, stumbling into an outrage.

"Emily, calm down. She didn't tell us because she was afraid we'd go looking for her."

"Well of course we'd go looking for her," Emily declared lewdly, "she's our granddaughter. She's supposed to be here in the pool house, hot…careening out…God knows where."

"I agree, this behavior is simply irresponsible. I would have never expected this from Rory," Richard agreed.

"Are you sure Lorelai had nothing to do with this?" Emily inquired.

"According to the letter, no."

"Rory wouldn't lie?"

"I certainly hope not," Richard vexed.

oooooooo

Jess sighed, rubbing his eyes and glancing at the clock to his left. 2:30. He couldn't sleep, hadn't been able to for some time now, but he couldn't go on like this. Casting his book aside, he leaned over, switching off the lamp. Settling back down into his pillow, he couldn't help contemplating over his behavior. Why couldn't he accept Rory? Why had things been so strained? It should be easy. He loves Rory, and he knows it. Of all the types of love, he didn't know which one they shared, but he knew that he loved her. Maybe they couldn't be together. Maybe it was predestined. Would God do that to innocent people, determine that they should be held miserably apart though only feet from each other. God… that's a tough subject…. As his thoughts wandered, he, strangely enough, didn't find himself getting any more sedated. Rather to the contrary, he was beginning to be exulted, becoming closer and closer to sorting out everything that was clouded. So close, yet so far away. He was interrupted by the creek of his door opening. He didn't look over, knowing who was there –who else? Her timid frame, slunk back, clinging to the door. Because of lack of noise in the apartment, he could here her softly, slowly padding around the bed. He closed his eyes, and felt her close to him, her warmth radiating outwards. She knelt down, resting her arms and chin on the edge of the mattress. When she made no more moves, Jess finally 'woke up,' opening his eyes and speaking.

"What are you doing?"

Surprised by the jolt of his eyelids and the sudden, suffocating sound of his rasping voice, she slunk back, retorting in a whisper. "I….um-"

"Rory?" he asked, slightly thrown by her bemused state.

"I didn't know you were awake…"

He nodded, letting silence slip into cover.

"It's because Obi Wan loved him. I mean, he always did. They were friends, Obi Wan and Darth Vader, they cared about each other. I guess Obi Wan couldn't destroy him, he still cared to much…after all those years. He was still willing to suffer for the both of them…because he loved him," Rory scrambled. Then lowering, her tone to near inaudibility, "At least that's how I see it."

Silently, simultaneously, he rolled over, gripped his fingers around her wrist, and pulled her into him. She lugged herself onto the bed, settling close to him. Laying on her side and drawing Jess into a tight embrace, she rested her chin on his shoulder, and he rested his chin on hers.

"Is it going to be good?" he asked, almost childlike in attitude.

"Yeah, it's going to be good."

oooooooo

"Rory ran away, how was your day?" Lorelai asked, plunking herself at the counter.

Luke looked up, and immediately ran around the counter, grabbing her arm and pulling her into the storage room. "You have got to stop doing that," Luke commanded.

"What are you talking about?" she giggled.

"You come in here, all nonchalantly, and tell me something terrible," he stared at her for a minute, then continued, "what do you mean 'ran away'?"

"First my mother comes in here, ranting about my kidnapping Rory," Lorelai pauses here, letting a shrewd, angry laugh escape her. "So I inform her that I do not have Rory, and send her on her way. Frankly, it was disgusting me to even speak to her. You know, she was supposed to help me convince Rory to go back to Yale…they both were." Luke nodded. "So then I get this letter in the mail…"

Lorelai pauses, pulls a crumpled paper out of her purse, and hands it to Luke. "What is this?" he asks, taking it.

"That's the letter."

"It's from Rory," Luke examined, shooting Lorelai a questioning look. "The return address is your place…"

"Well she's not there!" Lorelai exclaimed, almost amused at the situation. "It says all about how she's okay, but she can't tell me where she is, because then I would go looking for her. She needs to 'find' herself and she has things to sort out, which she can't do when people are looking for her. She explains why she didn't stay with my parents."

"She says she's still planning to go back to Yale," Luke stated, reading from the letter.

Lorelai scowled, waving the comment away. "Why won't she tell me where she is?" Lorelai whimpered, for the first time succumbing to the distress her daughter was causing. She stumbled forward, and Luke grabbed her, letting her cry. "Doesn't she trust me?"

"Maybe she… she…" Luke trailed off, unable to provide a fabricated reason for Rory's behavior. He settled for letting Lorelai cling to him crying, knowing that there was no to lessen her load.

oooooooo

Jess rolled over, reaching for the phone. Smiling at the sight of Rory curled up next to him, and reached over her, picking up the receiver. Who could possible be calling this early?

"Hey."

Luke.

"Hey."

"How have you been?" Luke asked.

"Um…good," Jess answered, surprised. Luke had only called once or twice before, and they were barley speaking. Things had gotten better between them after Liz' wedding, but everything hadn't been reconciled. The relationship was still strained.

"Good."

"And you?" Jess asked.

"Good."

"Good," Jess concluded. "Why did you call here?" he asked, confused by the sudden interest to bond.

"I was just cleaning out a drawer, and I saw your number. Then I remembered that a friend of mine was having some trouble with family, and I thought it would be good to talk," Luke rambled.

"Who?" Jess poked.

"You don't know them," Luke answered. "You don't know everyone I know."

"Do they live in Star's Hollow? Because, if so, then I know them," Jess snapped.

"I'll tell you, but you can't tell anyone-"

"Who am I going to tell?"

"Lorelai," Luke revealed, lowering his voice.

"Oh," Jess replied, sounding uncomfortable. He looked over at Rory, finding her still sound asleep.

"Do you want to know how?"

"Not particularly."

"Jess…"

"Would it make me uncomfortable?"

"It might," Luke conceded.

"Then I don't want to know."

"Well the crowds starting to pick up…" Luke trailed off. For a moment, Jess smirked, picturing Luke leaning against the counter, making fresh coffee and dealing with Kirk and Taylor's antics. It almost made him miss Star's Hollow…almost.

"Yeah, I've got things I have to deal with here too."

"We should keep in touch," Luke suggested, sounding, just maybe, hopeful.

"Yeah," Jess agreed, looking over at Rory again, who had now began to squirm, waking up, "we should."

oooooooo

So, there's a little plot twist for you. I'm really liking this story, it's easier and more comfortable for me to work with. I would like to write some original fiction too, but I don't know if anyone would read it. Oh well. Anyway, do yall like this story? I'm hoping to continue it.