Disclaimer: I don't own it.
Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews, they made my day, seriously! Jess is out of character in this chapter, I know that. So we'll just say that Cali changed him.
Rory had just left the Kim's to go get some coffee her mother had ordered. Usually when Rory was back in Stars Hollow, she bounced into Luke's with a grin on her face, happy to see the place again. This time, it wasn't like that. She wasn't bouncing, she was sort of dragging her feet, and her mind was thinking thoughts a mile a minute.
"What can I get you?" Jess automatically asked without looking up when he heard the bell above the diner door ring. When the person standing in front of him didn't answer, he looked up. And he was shocked. "Umm, hello."
"Hey." Rory responded, and pointed to the coffee. "I'll take three coffees, one to go later, and two for now." She said somewhat quieter than she usually did.
Jess got her order and stood on the other side of the counter. "So, what have you been up to?"
'Okay, he wants to play it cool.' Rory thought, as she took a sip of the liquid. 'I can do that.' She savored the flavor of the coffee for a moment before answering the question. "I went to Yale, got a degree in Journalism, and I plan to move to New York in a couple months for my job at the Times. You?"
"I went to California, and then I took summer courses to graduate. After that, I took courses at the community college and two years ago I got accepted into UCLA." Jess felt he had to explain his situation to Rory- the one person who cared about what he did at one point in his life. He saw her smile and went on. "After I graduated, I got an offer from the Hartford Post to do a column on Literature. My professor recommended me."
"That's great!" She smiled; for real because she was happy Jess had gotten his act together for once in his life. "I'm happy for you."
While this conversation was going on, Tristan and Lorelai found their minds kept drifting towards the person they were going to marry, and the person they had a crush on. "So, do you want some coffee?"
Lorelai was about to respond when she figured out what Tristan was really asking. "Sure, Rory hasn't brought mine back yet, and I'm getting impatient." She nodded. "So, can I drive?"
"Fine, just don't crash, okay?" Lorelai loved to drive Tristan's Porsche ever since she found out he had one.
The ride to the diner was usually around five minutes, but with Lorelai driving that day it was two. They nearly got a ticket from Taylor but they had run into the diner in time to see Taylor get distracted with another "unruly citizen."
Their outburst of laughing in the diner turned all heads in the place. Including Rory and Jess's. "Hey Jess. Long time no see." Lorelai greeted casually, taking the stool next to Rory at the counter. Tristan just nodded and sat on the other side of Rory. "We were almost arrested by Taylor."
"What did he do this time?" Rory rolled her eyes, unconsciously leaning back towards Tristan. "Did you let her drive?" The question was pointed towards the blonde man getting looks from Jess.
Kissing the top of Rory's head, he replied. "What can I say? I can't resist the Gilmore's."
"Must be the charm." Rory shot back, feeling safe in the loose grip on Tristan's muscular arms. She noticed Jess still standing next to the counter and sat up facing him. "Jess, I would like you to meet Tristan. Tristan, this is Jess." She introduced the guys.
"Nice to meet you." Tristan stuck out his hand. Jess accepted it and made a similar comment.
That was how Miss Patty found them the next moment. She made her entrance in the diner and came to the group of four near the counter. "Oh Rory darling, I'm so thrilled to hear the news. Congratulations." She eyed Tristan, who suddenly got uncomfortable. Rory struggled to keep a straight face. "I see you've got yourself a handsome catch." She winked. "Well, I must be off. I've got a hot date with potential husband number six."
"She never changed." Tristan sat very still for a moment of two trying to get all of the looks Miss Patty was giving him not two seconds earlier.
Rory kissed him on the lips and smiled playfully. "What can I say? She does have good taste, though." She leaned to whisper in his ear. "But I'm am sort of jealous that she's talked to you more than I have on this trip." Tristan just grinned and shrugged.
"Oooh, PDA!" Lorelai shouted out, finishing off Rory's coffee.
Jess had been taking in this whole scene and decided that Tristan was trustworthy, unlike Dean he wouldn't get jealous over nothing and he would be even nicer. "Hey Tristan, can I talk to you?" He spoke more than three words to a total stranger. Maybe California did some good to him after all.
"Yeah, sure." Tristan got up and was sort of nervous. This guy could be taking him out back to give him a beating or something. When he looked at Rory, she shook her head, which was normally a good sign. Maybe he could trust this guy.
They had gotten across the street from the diner when Jess first talked. "Look man, I'm not here to steal Rory or anything."
"Uh huh."
"And I won't."
"Okay."
"I'm here for closure."
"She wants it too, I know."
"Okay, I just want to say," he looked towards Doose's market involuntarily. "If you ever, ever harm her you will pay."
Tristan looked up chuckling. "Don't worry. I won't. Lorelai already as first dibs on killing me, though." He saw Jess's eyes change from serious to blank again. "But I want to know one thing. Why?"
He seemed to interpret the question the way Tristan wanted him to. "I couldn't give Rory what she wanted. I didn't live up to her standards, Luke's standards, even mine." He put his hand out. "Not friends, but not enemies?"
"Yeah," Tristan accepted the offer. He knew that Lorelai and Rory were sitting outside of the diner on the bench their faces covered by newspapers, periodically coming down so they could get a view of the past and present loves of Rory's life. "We're not enemies." He called out, in direction towards the two figures.
Rory put the newspaper down slowly and a grin formed on her face. She got the closure she had wanted. She had gotten the answers to her burning questions, and she found out it wasn't going to be a Dean and Jess thing all over again. Thank goodness for that. Jess interrupted her thoughts by appearing in front of her and speaking. "Well, I've got to get to Hartford. My interview in three hours." He smiled and was off.
The three left were bored already. It seemed like with Jess mature and grown up, and Kristina at the Inn, there was no one wreaking havoc on the small town. "So, where to?" Tristan asked.
"Well, I've got to get to the Inn. We've got some important people coming, and I don't want Michel there to greet them. They might be scared away." Lorelai shrugged, unable to explain her concieges habits.
"And then there was two." Rory said the infamous quote as Lorelai walked out the door. "So, where does this leave us?"
Tristan walked to the video store with Rory. "This leaves us with some popcorn, some movies and some nice chick flicks all day long." He kissed Rory on the forehead as they headed into the store.
"Ah, the infamous Rory curtain is still up." Tristan noted the red curtain blocking off part of the store. He had been informed of all of Taylor's antics to get kids to see only PG rated movies.
"I don't think it'll ever come down." Rory smiled.
They got the movies and were walking towards the Crap Shack when Jackson stopped them. "Rory, it's great to see you again." He hugged the town sweetheart, even after she moved away. "Tristan, it's nice to meet you. However you don't look anything like Babette told me." He shook the man's hand. "Well, I have to go. My eggplants are waiting."
Tristan just stood there with a very confused face for a moment after meeting Jackson. Rory took this moment to speak up. "I'm telling you, Stars Hollow is just a unique town." She smiled and kissed Tristan on the lips before walking forward again.
"Well, I'm just glad I'm here with you." He put an arm around her should and pulled her close.
Rory rolled her eyes and laughed. "Yeah, I'm sure you are, Romeo."
"No, not just Romeo. The runaway Romeo." He referred to the night he was supposed to play Romeo at Chilton but got sent to military school anyways.
"Whatever you say."
Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews, they made my day, seriously! Jess is out of character in this chapter, I know that. So we'll just say that Cali changed him.
Rory had just left the Kim's to go get some coffee her mother had ordered. Usually when Rory was back in Stars Hollow, she bounced into Luke's with a grin on her face, happy to see the place again. This time, it wasn't like that. She wasn't bouncing, she was sort of dragging her feet, and her mind was thinking thoughts a mile a minute.
"What can I get you?" Jess automatically asked without looking up when he heard the bell above the diner door ring. When the person standing in front of him didn't answer, he looked up. And he was shocked. "Umm, hello."
"Hey." Rory responded, and pointed to the coffee. "I'll take three coffees, one to go later, and two for now." She said somewhat quieter than she usually did.
Jess got her order and stood on the other side of the counter. "So, what have you been up to?"
'Okay, he wants to play it cool.' Rory thought, as she took a sip of the liquid. 'I can do that.' She savored the flavor of the coffee for a moment before answering the question. "I went to Yale, got a degree in Journalism, and I plan to move to New York in a couple months for my job at the Times. You?"
"I went to California, and then I took summer courses to graduate. After that, I took courses at the community college and two years ago I got accepted into UCLA." Jess felt he had to explain his situation to Rory- the one person who cared about what he did at one point in his life. He saw her smile and went on. "After I graduated, I got an offer from the Hartford Post to do a column on Literature. My professor recommended me."
"That's great!" She smiled; for real because she was happy Jess had gotten his act together for once in his life. "I'm happy for you."
While this conversation was going on, Tristan and Lorelai found their minds kept drifting towards the person they were going to marry, and the person they had a crush on. "So, do you want some coffee?"
Lorelai was about to respond when she figured out what Tristan was really asking. "Sure, Rory hasn't brought mine back yet, and I'm getting impatient." She nodded. "So, can I drive?"
"Fine, just don't crash, okay?" Lorelai loved to drive Tristan's Porsche ever since she found out he had one.
The ride to the diner was usually around five minutes, but with Lorelai driving that day it was two. They nearly got a ticket from Taylor but they had run into the diner in time to see Taylor get distracted with another "unruly citizen."
Their outburst of laughing in the diner turned all heads in the place. Including Rory and Jess's. "Hey Jess. Long time no see." Lorelai greeted casually, taking the stool next to Rory at the counter. Tristan just nodded and sat on the other side of Rory. "We were almost arrested by Taylor."
"What did he do this time?" Rory rolled her eyes, unconsciously leaning back towards Tristan. "Did you let her drive?" The question was pointed towards the blonde man getting looks from Jess.
Kissing the top of Rory's head, he replied. "What can I say? I can't resist the Gilmore's."
"Must be the charm." Rory shot back, feeling safe in the loose grip on Tristan's muscular arms. She noticed Jess still standing next to the counter and sat up facing him. "Jess, I would like you to meet Tristan. Tristan, this is Jess." She introduced the guys.
"Nice to meet you." Tristan stuck out his hand. Jess accepted it and made a similar comment.
That was how Miss Patty found them the next moment. She made her entrance in the diner and came to the group of four near the counter. "Oh Rory darling, I'm so thrilled to hear the news. Congratulations." She eyed Tristan, who suddenly got uncomfortable. Rory struggled to keep a straight face. "I see you've got yourself a handsome catch." She winked. "Well, I must be off. I've got a hot date with potential husband number six."
"She never changed." Tristan sat very still for a moment of two trying to get all of the looks Miss Patty was giving him not two seconds earlier.
Rory kissed him on the lips and smiled playfully. "What can I say? She does have good taste, though." She leaned to whisper in his ear. "But I'm am sort of jealous that she's talked to you more than I have on this trip." Tristan just grinned and shrugged.
"Oooh, PDA!" Lorelai shouted out, finishing off Rory's coffee.
Jess had been taking in this whole scene and decided that Tristan was trustworthy, unlike Dean he wouldn't get jealous over nothing and he would be even nicer. "Hey Tristan, can I talk to you?" He spoke more than three words to a total stranger. Maybe California did some good to him after all.
"Yeah, sure." Tristan got up and was sort of nervous. This guy could be taking him out back to give him a beating or something. When he looked at Rory, she shook her head, which was normally a good sign. Maybe he could trust this guy.
They had gotten across the street from the diner when Jess first talked. "Look man, I'm not here to steal Rory or anything."
"Uh huh."
"And I won't."
"Okay."
"I'm here for closure."
"She wants it too, I know."
"Okay, I just want to say," he looked towards Doose's market involuntarily. "If you ever, ever harm her you will pay."
Tristan looked up chuckling. "Don't worry. I won't. Lorelai already as first dibs on killing me, though." He saw Jess's eyes change from serious to blank again. "But I want to know one thing. Why?"
He seemed to interpret the question the way Tristan wanted him to. "I couldn't give Rory what she wanted. I didn't live up to her standards, Luke's standards, even mine." He put his hand out. "Not friends, but not enemies?"
"Yeah," Tristan accepted the offer. He knew that Lorelai and Rory were sitting outside of the diner on the bench their faces covered by newspapers, periodically coming down so they could get a view of the past and present loves of Rory's life. "We're not enemies." He called out, in direction towards the two figures.
Rory put the newspaper down slowly and a grin formed on her face. She got the closure she had wanted. She had gotten the answers to her burning questions, and she found out it wasn't going to be a Dean and Jess thing all over again. Thank goodness for that. Jess interrupted her thoughts by appearing in front of her and speaking. "Well, I've got to get to Hartford. My interview in three hours." He smiled and was off.
The three left were bored already. It seemed like with Jess mature and grown up, and Kristina at the Inn, there was no one wreaking havoc on the small town. "So, where to?" Tristan asked.
"Well, I've got to get to the Inn. We've got some important people coming, and I don't want Michel there to greet them. They might be scared away." Lorelai shrugged, unable to explain her concieges habits.
"And then there was two." Rory said the infamous quote as Lorelai walked out the door. "So, where does this leave us?"
Tristan walked to the video store with Rory. "This leaves us with some popcorn, some movies and some nice chick flicks all day long." He kissed Rory on the forehead as they headed into the store.
"Ah, the infamous Rory curtain is still up." Tristan noted the red curtain blocking off part of the store. He had been informed of all of Taylor's antics to get kids to see only PG rated movies.
"I don't think it'll ever come down." Rory smiled.
They got the movies and were walking towards the Crap Shack when Jackson stopped them. "Rory, it's great to see you again." He hugged the town sweetheart, even after she moved away. "Tristan, it's nice to meet you. However you don't look anything like Babette told me." He shook the man's hand. "Well, I have to go. My eggplants are waiting."
Tristan just stood there with a very confused face for a moment after meeting Jackson. Rory took this moment to speak up. "I'm telling you, Stars Hollow is just a unique town." She smiled and kissed Tristan on the lips before walking forward again.
"Well, I'm just glad I'm here with you." He put an arm around her should and pulled her close.
Rory rolled her eyes and laughed. "Yeah, I'm sure you are, Romeo."
"No, not just Romeo. The runaway Romeo." He referred to the night he was supposed to play Romeo at Chilton but got sent to military school anyways.
"Whatever you say."