Note: Rory and Dean aren't together, they broke up a little while after Jess came to town but not for reasons relating to Jess.
Chapter 2 – Not alone under the stars
Where we left of….
Rory slowly played the last line as her voice and the sound of the last note lingered in the air. She opened her eyes which she hadn't noticed had been closed and stoped dead when she saw Jess standing in the doorway, his mouth half open.
"Jess?" she asked panicked.
"Wow" was all he could say.
There was a thud as Rory quickly shut the piano and soon the room was plunged into darkness as she blew out the candle. Jess heard shuffling and walked into the room a little trying to see Rory through the dark. Rory grabbed her shoes and her coat, she noticed Jess had moved away from the door so as quickly as she could she bolted.
Jess didn't notice Rory pass him till it was too late, he spun around to see her running off through the square.
Jess stood in shock, firstly at seeing the never sporty Rory run, 'I didn't know she could' and secondly for seeing her play and sing like that ' I didn't know she could do that either'. He slowly walked out of Miss Patty's, a million thoughts running through his head.
Rory ran, she ran all the way home, she wasn't quiet sure why she was running. I mean Jess had just seen her playing that was all. Maybe it was because she hadn't played in front of anyone in such a long time or maybe it was because against all her better judgement she liked Jess. He was smart, though he hardly let anyone know it, he had great taste in music and he had this look about him.
The dark tousled hair, dark eyes, it was intriguing, her sensible side told her he could get you into trouble but her other side told her to trust him. She walked up her front steps and breathed deeply as she opened the door, she had a million thoughts running through her head.
"Hey Babe, you alright?" Lorelai asked as a confused looking Rory walked through the front door. Rory looked up startled to see her mum standing in the hallway.
"Ah yeah I'm fine" she said, still distracted
"O..k" Lorelai looked at her for a second before walking into the lounge room.
"Hey you wanna watch a movie?" Lorelai asked as she sat down on the couch, and flicked on the TV.
"Um actually mum can I talk to you for a minute"
Lorelai's sat up at this, she turned to Rory
"Sure" she flicked off the TV, as Rory slowly came around and sat down next to her on the couch. Rory took a deep breath and then looked up at her mum. Lorelai waited, trying to be patient but she was worried, what was going on with Rory?
"Well, I just though you should know…" she stoped for a minute, staring at her hands, she looked up at Lorelai again.
"I've started…playing again"
Lorelai was surprised this wasn't really what she had expected to come out of Rory's mouth right then, she though it might be boy related or something like that. Then questions started popping into her head.
"Wow that's …great sweetie, but when, how?" Rory cut in
"Miss Patty's, in the evening" Lorelai nodded
"Well I think…that's great" she leaned over and hugged Rory tight, Rory smiled happy to have finally told her mum.
It may not seem like a big thing but it had been something that had been weighing her down, she never kept secrets from her mum and she hated doing it. She pulled back feeling slightly better, the whole issue of Jess was still floating around in her head but she didn't want to talk about it, plus her mum didn't really…like jess.
"So how about that movie then?" Rory said leaning back into the couch.
He picked up the instrument that had become so foreign to him. Feeling the cool wood and the rough strings of the guitar, he placed the instrument on his lap, his fingers falling into their natural positions on top of the strings. It was the 3rd time he'd picked it up today, he had actually tunned it and everything last time but just before he was about to play he was disturbed by Luke coming back up stars to get something, and then when he left the moment had been lost, his courage gone.
Jess placed his fingers on the strings, automatically in the place of a cord. He took a deep breath and then began to lightly strum the strings. Ever since he'd seen Rory playing that night, his urge to play again had been getting stronger and stronger. To the see the release she felt when she had played, he had longed to feel that again. He played an easy cord progression, repeating it rhythmically, back and forth his arm strummed. He closed his eyes allowing the feeling and the music to wash over him. He sat in dark apartment playing those cord over and over again till his fingers hurt, his voice yearned to sing but his head wasn't ready to go there yet.
The car pulled up outside the Gilmore mansion and a complaining Lorelai got out of the car accompanied by her daughter.
"I don't wanna go to dinner"
"I know"
"I don't wanna see my mother"
"I know" repeated Rory duly
Lorelai turned to look at Rory,
"Your not listening to a word I'm saying are you?"
"Nope" Rory said stilling staring off into space. She was thinking about that night and about Jess and about what Jess had said, 'wow' that's what he'd said, he'd said wow, a genuine wow, was it a 'wow I can't believe she's so bad' or a 'wow I can't believe she can do that' or a 'wow, your amazing' Rory was pulled out of her thoughts as her grandmother answered the door.
Rory had not wanted to go back to Friday night dinners but it was the only way she could afford to go to Chilton and she had to go to Chilton so she could get into Harvard.
"Hello girls, come in" Emily greeted them
"Hi mum" said Lorelai, Rory just smiled politely, her thoughts still occupied but Jess, not only about his 'wow' comment but about her own feelings for him.
An hour later Rory and Lorelai exited the Gilmore house, Lorelai groaning loudly.
"Agh she's unbelieve, she's the one that offered me more cheese cake, forced me, not that its hard to get me to eat more cheesecake, then she goes on about how I eat too much junk and so ill never find a husband…" Lorelai continued to rant as they got in the car, Rory wasn't really listening.
"…she always does that, set me up and…" Lorelai stoped when she noticed Rory wasn't paying attention.
"Hey?" she asked looking at Rory intently
"Yeah?"
"You alright? You were pretty quiet tonight?"
"Yeah I'm just tired" Lorelai looked at her sceptically before turning back and starting the car. They pulled up outside the Luke's half an hour later.
'Hey you wanna get some pie?" Lorelai asked
"Ah " Rory stared out across the square, she noticed a dull light coming from Miss Patty's and she knew Miss Patty would have turned on the main lights if she were there. Rory turned back to her mother
"No you go, I've got to get something from the market"
"Oh alright"
Rory left her Mother, who was on a mission for pie and would do anything to get it, she pitted poor Luke. She quickly crossed the square to Miss Patty's intrigued by the light as she got closer she head the sound of a voice singing.
His fingers strummed back and forth across the strings and for the first time in a long time he let his voice ring out.
"Dancing out on 7th street…"
Rory knew that song, but she didn't know the voice, she walked up and stars and stood in shock at the figure she saw inside.
"Dancing through the underground…"
Sitting on a chair, with a guitar on his lap was Jess.
"Dancing little marionettes…"
His eyes were closed and his fingers were playing gently the familiar tune, as his voice rung out, rough and wonderful. Rory's initial shock was wearing off and smile begun to spread across her face, she moved a little closer into the room.
"Are you happy now…yeah… Where do you go where you're lonely…"
"Where do you go when you're blue…" Rory's voice rung out through the dark. Jess opened his eyes wide at the sound of voice, his fingers stoped playing, as he stared at the figure standing before him. Her blues watching him, urging him to go on, keep playing. He took a deep breath and begun to strum again, his eyes never leaving hers.
"Where do you go where your lonely I'll follow you…" they sung together, their voices matching in perfect harmony.
"When the stars go blue…" he sung softly
"Laughing with your pretty mouth…" he sung, playing the song softly and delicately
"Laughing with your pretty mouth…" Rory repeated, following the way of the song. She crossed the room to the piano, her eyes always intently fixed on his.
"Laughing with your broken eyes…" he watched her slip her shoes off and sit down at the piano, his eyes locked with her blue ones.
"Laughing with your broken eyes…" she repeated.
"Laughing with your lovers song…"
"In a lullaby…yeahhh" they sung out together, the song picking up its pace.
"Where do you go when your lonely' Rory pushed down on the keys of the piano, her cords creating balance against his. Her voice singing higher, their melody singing out.
"Where do you go when your blue…where do you go when your lonely I'll follow you…" "Follow you…" Rory sung out, hitting the note perfectly and Jess's' voice caught in his throat momentarily.
The song was coming to an end.
"When the stars go blue…" they sung together
"When the stars go blue…" he sung
"When the stars go bluee…" she sung
"When the stars go ..blue…" they sung softly together. Her fingers playing their last note, his fingers strumming there last cord. They stared at each other, wonderfully connected, maybe by the music or maybe by the understanding, understanding how each other felt when they played.
Rory stood up and walked over to where Jess was sitting. He put his guitar down on the floor as she approached, and held out her hands to him which he took standing up. They stood close, him still holding her hands.
Rory started to softly sing the first lines of the song.
"Dancing where the stars go blue…" Jess pulled Rory's hands up to rest on the top of his chest.
"Dancing where the evening fell…" Jess put his arms around her waist.
"Dancing in my wooden shoes…" he moved his face closer to hers and she said the last line almost in a whisper
"…in a wedding gown"
His eyes shine as she sung and when she finished he slowly leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. The kiss soft at first soon turned to passionate and Rory's hand cupped the side of his face as his hands roamed her hips, after a little while they pulled back breathlessly. She stared into his eyes
"I guess I know what 'wow' that was now" she said smiling.
"What?" Jess asked confused. Rory gave him a mischievous grin before leaning up and kissing him passionately again, both of them smiling into the kiss.
An- I know its kind of cliché to have that song, especially seeing as its originally from One Tree Hill but I love that song and I love Tyler Hilton :) I hope you liked, pretty please review.
