A/N: Sorry about the delay in updating. Basketball practice, sunburns and boyfriends have kept me previously occupied. By the way I need a beta. If anyone can give me details…that'd be awesome. On with the story…
Don't hold this against me
Hours later when he gets back to his own room, he finds that the door is open and the furniture is in disarray. Then he sees a dirty, athletic sock hanging off the front of his roommate's door. He knows the sign.
"Nice," Jess thinks sarcastically to himself.
He opens up his own door and heaves himself onto his bed. His head is spinning slightly. He wants a drink so badly; he nearly tears himself off the bed. But he stays put, massaging the temples of his forehead. The phone rings suddenly and he realizes neither of them are going to answer it, so he waits for the machine to click on.
"uh..Jess? This is…well…this is Rory. I just wanted to make sure you…uh…well I wanted to make sure you got to your dorm OK. I'm really sorry about tonight. I never meant for it to turn out like this. I just want to make sure you're all right, you know what are friends for," she laughs slightly, he doesn't smiles, but merely flinches at the word "friends". "So uh, if you could call me to at least tell me you're still alive, that'd be great…Good night Jess." Click.
He throws his hands up around his face, contemplating suicide at this point, for how miserably he feels. He wants to fight, but he doesn't have enough left in him. He tries to tell himself, as he falls asleep that night that she's not even worth it. But it doesn't work, him deep down knowing that she's all too much worth it.
>
Class the next morning is damn near unbearable. His head is pounding, and if he hadn't known any better he would have thought it was a hangover, but he reminds himself he was completely sober last night. His morning English Lit class is with her, but he doesn't take his normal seat. Instead he finds a seat across from where they normally sit, and plants himself there, trying to not even look to see if she's come in yet.
"Hey," a voice says from behind him.
He turns around to see her moving her way down the steps to a seat next to him in the lecture hall.
"New seats?" she asks brightly, oblivious to his method of ignoring her.
He just shrugs and turns back to his notes. At this she notices the not so subtle tone directed towards her.
"What did I do?" she asks, "Is this about last night, because I left a message on your phone and –"
"Not everything is always about you," he tells her monotone.
This shuts her up and she turns in her seat so that she's facing forward instead of looking at him. The professor walks in and class begins, but neither of them, at this point, have any clue what he's even talking about
When the lesson ends she's the first to dart out of the hall, making sure that he notices her not so subtle exit. He leans back in his chair, cussing at himself again, for being such an asshole. He looks around realizes that out of the nearly 100s of students there were in the class, he's only one of ten left. He goes to move but he hears his name.
"Mr. Mariano."
He turns to see Professor Spencer walking towards him. He has learned nothing – and he means nothing – good can come of a teacher talking to him.
"Mr. Mariano, I would like to discuss the paper you just turned in. I must say I was very impressed. Extremely impressed actually. Your comparison of Hemingway and Austen was right on. Now don't be offended, but are you sure you wrote this because not only does Yale University frown upon plagiarism but –"
His jaw drops, if it were long enough it would have hit the floor. He stares in bewilderment at his teacher.
"Are you accusing me of plagiarizing?" Jess yells incredulous.
The professor takes a step towards him.
"Mr. Mariano, like I said please don't be offended, I am obligated to ask these questions. And please do not act surprised. After I read your paper, I've watched you, and it seems as though you just stare off into space while I talk. I just wondered how you were able to do this so well without the notes –"
"I wrote it," he says plain as day. "If you don't believe me, then don't. But I wrote that damn thing."
He turns on his heel and leaves the lecture hall. He feels like crying or smoking or drinking or anything. His heart is sunken deeply into the pit of his stomach. He looks up at the sky as he walks out onto the courtyard. The rain cloud overhead is deafeningly dark. He thinks to himself, Can this day get any damn worse? And then he feels a sprinkle on his head and looks up to see a massive downpour of rain about to begin, as he starts to run for shelter, he laughs mockingly at himself. Yep when it rains, it pours.
>
When he finally gets back to his dorm room, he's soaked. And when he walks into the common room, he finds his roommate sprawled out on the coach.
"Hey mate," his roommate says.
"Josh," Jess says acknowledging him.
"Rough night?" Josh asks, looking at the disheveled mess in right of him.
"Just some old shit, nothing to worry about," he says taking a seat on the sofa next to his elder roommate. He suddenly notices the shower is running.
"We got company?" he asks, eyeing his roommate carefully.
Josh grins, and it's all Jess can do not to smile back.
"The same one from last night?" Jess asks.
"Ya," he responds back. "Went to the library. Did you know how many books there are in there? Never been in one of those, man. You should have told me it's a great way to pick up chicks. You spot one, read them some poetry and before you know it you get some."
Jess laughs slightly at him. He hears the shower stop running, and the pitter patter of female feet on the floor walk into the common room.
"Josh…Oh…is this your roommate?" the female says.
Jess turns around to greet the famous mystery woman and his jaw absolutely drops.
"Paris!"
The girl blushes slightly as Josh walks around the couch to put an arm around here.
"Mate, you've met my girl Paris now have you? Tell me it wasn't the same situation that I met her in," he says laughing to himself, only neither Paris nor Jess is laughing.
"My ex-girlfriend is her roommate," Jess tells Josh lowly.
Josh's eyebrows rise. "Sweets tell me who your roommate is?" he says.
"Rory Gilmore, you met her when we went back to my dorm before we came here," Paris tells him softly. Jess turns away slightly at the name.
"Wait, mate, isn't it that girl you're always talking about, the one you're always bringing around," he asks questioningly, with a stupid grin on his face.
"Nope," Jess tells him, trying to lie, but unbelievably bad at it.
"No, wait, I think it is. Hey sweets did you know that this guy's got it so bad for that Gilmore, he's actually taken to –"
"Josh!" Jess says standing up, fists nearly clenched. But Josh doesn't want to back down; he's having too much fun.
"Mate, oh, you're right. Sorry sweets, bros before hoes, not that I'm referring to you as one, but I shouldn't be telling you these things."
Jess turns towards the opposite wall staring at absolutely nothing. Wishing to God he had gotten a better roommate, inches away from going and grabbing the Dean of admission's throat for even letting the jackass in.
"Now sweets, how about you get all dressed and prettied up, and I'll go get us some sustenance. Go along now," he says tapping Paris' butt as she heads into his room. Once the door is closed Josh walks into Jess's view.
"Sorry mate didn't know you would get so mad about that. We're still good though right?" he says with the signature Josh grin on his face.
Jess merely nods.
"Right, oh. You're a good man Jess, a good man indeed. Such a good man you deserve a whole pot of coffee, or at least a cup. I'll be back soon," he says pulling a jacket on and rushing out the door.
Minutes later Paris reappears out into the common room. There's an unsteady silence between them, and Jess decides it's his turn to break it.
"Never thought of you as the Josh type?" he tells her.
She smiles, and takes this as an invitation to sit down next to him.
"You know people can change," she says rather hastily.
"Calm down killer," he tells her, laughing.
They sit there for a moment, both unsure of what to do but finally she stands up.
"I better help him, you know, he might not be able to find his way back to the dorm from the cafeteria."
Jess smiles at her as she pulls the door open, grabbing her purse on the way out. She turns to leave, but pauses for a moment and turns back towards him.
"I just thought you should know…she told me she thinks about you. Constantly."
And with that she leaves him to bask in the aroma of his very own misery.
A/N: The good stuff will come soon I promise
:) LacY