A/NOkay, so this is my 1st Gilmore Girls FanFic. If you want, you can check out my Everwood one, with its amazingly original title – The Everwood Story. Anyways, enough of my rambling! Here's Chapter 1.

Lorelai knocked impatiently on Rory's door.

"Rory? Rory, wake up!"

Rory opened the door, already in her school uniform, and came face to face with her mom, who was up surprisingly early.

"What is it, mom?"

"I have big news!" Lorelai said, making her way downstairs as an indication for Rory to follow her.

"What is it? Mom?"

Lorelai motioned for Rory to sit down. She did so, hurriedly. "Come on, you're practically killing me here!"

Rory's mom cleared her throat dramatically. "Well…" She took a pause for effect.

"Mom!"

"Okay, okay! Like I said, I have big news…"

"Right…"

"And that big news is…"

"You're really enjoying watching me like this, aren't you?"

"Loving it."

"Well? What's the big news?"

"Remember Ashley? You used to watch Mr Ed reruns with her, like every day? Well – she's gonna come stay with us for a while!"

Rory was dumbfounded for a moment. Then she realised what her mom had just said.

"She is? When? How come! This is great!"

"She's coming in a week, and it's gonna be for a little while…"

"A little while…as in…you don't know when she'll be leaving?"

"Basically…yeah, kinda. But that's good, right?"

"It's…amazing! We sooo have to prepare…do you think she still has that passion for spray cheese and Oreos?"

"Honey…"

"Ooh, and do you remember the time when we were in 2nd grade and for our class project, we sang our own version of The Star-Spangled Banner…"

"Sweets, you gotta…"

Rory was too excited to stop. "…and Bobby Johnson threw his peanut butter and jelly sandwich at her and told her she couldn't sing, so then she just ate the sandwich…"

"Rory!"

"What?" She snapped out of her trip down memory lane.

"You're gonna be late for school unless you…zip that lip! And...up that rump!"

"Crap! Wait a minute…up that rump?"

"Not the point," Lorelai said, as she practically pushed Rory out of the door. "See you later, hun," she said waving, as she watched her daughter get into and drive away in the Jeep. Ready for another day at the infamous Chilton Prep.

----

Lorelai Gilmore walked into Luke's Diner as she did every morning, and dumped her handbag onto the counter. "Top of the morning to ya, Luke," she said cheerfully, grinning.

"Why are you so happy?" Luke asked, in his usual early morning tone.

"Oh, nothing," she replied. "Well, that is, if you're not interested," she said casually, even though she was bursting to tell him her news.

"I can tell that you'll explode if you don't tell me, so – go ahead."

"How can you tell?"

"You're squirming."

"I am not squirming!" she said indignantly, and promptly stopped.

"Sure you're not. Whatever."

"Well, since you asked," Lorelai smiled. "A mutual friend of Rory's and mine is coming to visit us in a week!"

Luke lifted his eyes from his notebook. "A mutual friend? What kind of mutual friend?"

"Well, she's a human, if that's what you're asking," Lorelai laughed, confused.

"She's a human? So it's a she?"

"Yes, Luke, it's a she. Her name's Ashley. She's been having some family problems."

"What kind of family problems?"

"Well, basically her mom and her mom's boyfriend are getting on her nerves, and she didn't really wanna be at home, and they didn't really want her to be around. So she called me up, all desperate and 'get me out of here.' So I jumped right in and said, 'Hey, why don't you stay with us for a while?'"

"Well, good for you Lorelai. But this Ashley reminds me of someone else I know," Luke said, and at that moment, Jess came down the stairs. He was meant to do ½ hour of work every morning before school, but he had conveniently 'woken up too late,' and had no time before school started.

Darn.

"Jess, you're late."

"No kidding," Jess replied. Luke sighed.

"You're gonna be late for school."

"Aw shucks. There goes my day," Jess said sarcastically.

"Well…" Luke said, trying to think of something meaningful and interesting to say. "…have fun!"

Jess gave him a look, then grabbed his coat and made his way to school.

His journey could take him around10 seconds, but it usually managed to take him longer and last about 15 minutes with his dawdling. If he wanted, or tried, he could have made it to school in 10 seconds this very morning, and not risk being late. But this would mean running, and running was for people who were eager to get to school.

Jess wasn't eager to get to school.

As a bus stopped across the street, Jess seriously considered getting on, bunking off school, and just seeing where life took him. But he resisted. As much as he hated all the jerks and posers at Stars Hollow High, he had to prove something to Luke, and everybody else.

That he wasn't one of those jerks or posers.