"So, he's back...again," Lane said, processing the information Rory had given her, as she and Rory walked around town later that day.

"Yup."

"And you're okay with this?" Lane asked.

Rory hesitated. "I guess, how else can I be about it?"

"Pissed!" Lane cried out in exasperation.

Rory looked at her friend, surprised by her sudden outburst.

Lane noticed this and continued. "I mean, he comes here in the first place, all surly and whatever and then befriends you and then hurts you physically and leaves. Then he comes back and you guys eventually get together and then he ditches, again, hurting you emotionally. All the while I'm seeing everything, but don't say much because I'm the best friend and the last thing I wanna do is turn into a Mama Kim, but Rory, I'm really worried. Every time he's here, he hurts you. I just wonder how's he going to hurt you this time around," Lane explained.

Rory didn't answer right away. She thought about Lane's word, understanding her friend's concern, but all she could do in her head was make excuses for Jess. Well, at least for the first time he left. Smashing the car wasn't all his fault, she asked him to drive. But there were no excuses for the second time.

"I know you worry about me. I worry about me. But I mean, what can I really do about it? Ask him to leave? I doubt he would and even if he did...I don't think that's what I want," Rory admitted quietly.

Lane's eye's bulged behind her glasses. "What?? Rory, what are you saying?" she asked, impassioned.

"Look, I know he's hurt me, I know he's been a jerk and a coward and a...well...an asshole. I know all this. But I still like it when he's here. I hate the fact that I like that he's here because he's all those terrible things, but...I just...I missed him, Lane," Rory rambled. It felt good to hear those words escape from her own lips; it solidified the thoughts that had been playing in her mind since Jess came back.

Lane gulped. "Do you still want to be with him?"

"I don't know. I mean, part of me really wants to physically hurt him while the other part wants to kiss him. It's like I'm being stretched in all these different directions until I become like one of those hair ties that just snap when stretched too far. I just get so confused when I think about him," Rory replied.

Lane looked at her best friend in somewhat disbelief, yet she knew Rory was being completely honest. She just couldn't understand how Rory could still stand to be within ten feet Jess when he had hurt her so much. True Rory acted just fine when Jess had left the second time, but Lane knew she hurt inside. When they talked about college, Lane would ask if Rory knew any guys of interest only to be met by a shrug and a 'no.' That's when she knew Rory wasn't over Jess; there just had to be at least one interesting guy at Yale out of the thousands, it was a mathematical certainty.

But Rory was blinded by this weird image of Jess she had created in her mind. Lane imagined Jess in a white robe with a sparkling golden halo and a pair of wings sprouting out of his back because that certainly must have been how Rory saw him. But really, Jess wasn't that amazing. Granted he was smart, witty, mildly attractive, and had that bad-boy complex that was well...okay, so it was sexy, but those things didn't erase or cover-up the guy's bad points - and there were many. He was arrogant, crude, harsh in the overly mean way if he didn't like you, unreliable and...insecure. Lane furrowed her eyebrows at this realization.

"Lane?" Rory asked. She worried that her friend would be adamant about her ignoring Jess' existence like her mother had been, but Lane had been silent for minutes since Rory poured out her feelings.

"Huh?" Lane asked, distracted still by her realization.

"Aren't you going to say something? I mean, I thought you would be really upset right now," Rory said as they sat down on a park bench in the center of the town. It was chilly, but it hadn't snowed yet. Rory couldn't wait for snow to fall.

Lane opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Rory waited, but Lane closed her mouth without saying anything. Once she realized that Jess was insecure, just as insecure or more so than the rest of them, she saw him in a different light. It was like this whole dimension of Jess was revealed. She understood his actions, reactions, retorts, everything much better.

Jess had this whole I'm-pissed-off-at-the-world facade because he was insecure. Having already been insecure about his relationship with Rory because he often wondered how he had managed to become her boyfriend, disappointing her by not graduating made him completely...embarrassed. And, well, perhaps ashamed? Yes, shame had to have played a role in it as well. Luke had always been there for him in the Luke-esque way and Jess had not come through on the one thing he had promised to accomplish for his uncle either. So Jess, being the emotionally walled-up guy that he was, ran away because it was the only thing he knew he could do. The insecurity had led to cowardice. Lane wondered if she should major in psychology.

"Lane? You're seriously worrying me here," Rory said. Why wouldn't her friend say anything?

"I'm sorry, it's just...well, what can I say?"

"You're not gonna be more critical of Jess or something?" Rory asked incredulously.

Though she saw Jess differently now, Lane didn't trust him with Rory's heart again. That classic 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me' mantra kept playing in Lane's head, telling her that something bad could happen to Rory. But, in the end, she couldn't control Rory's decisions. If Rory wanted to give her heart to Jess again, though it probably was always with him, it was her decision. The only thing Lane could really do was jump for glee if things worked out between them or have the tissue box handy if not. No more, no less.

"After Mama Kim had let Dave take me to prom, we had this talk. Not about sex or sinning or anything like that, but about love. She told me that though I could choose who I would love, I couldn't control who loved me. Nothing I said, did, felt, or thought would ever make someone love me. I didn't get it then, I still don't think I really get it, but I think it means to take the chance and have faith. You can only have faith that the other person feels like how you do, because you can't control their feelings towards you. So, I guess, after this incessant ramble, I'm just trying to say that it's up to you. You tried it with Jess once and if you want to try again, then it's your decision. But you can't change him, you choose to take all of him. You just have to have faith that he'll see what an amazing chance you're giving him and not screw it up. And if it works out, then, 'yay!' and if not, well, I'll shove my drum stick into a very private part of his anatomy," Lane said.

Rory looked at her friend in shock. Lane just gave her probably the most beautiful speech in all of history, and she had read a lot of speeches. Okay, maybe it wasn't Gettysburg Address quality, but Rory was still touched beyond words. She flung her arms around her friend and squeezed tightly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's Note: I know this is shorter than some other chapters, but I wanted some Lane/Rory interaction because they are best friends and I always thought Lane was super cool. I wanted to counter that sort of protectiveness of Lorelai's with Lane telling Rory to decide for herself, making Rory more like the adult than the child Lorelai treats her as. Anyway, hopefully this sheds so light onto the type of Jess I'm creating here. Thanks for everyone who reviewed, that means a lot. Please let me know what you think.