Where You Lead
Chapter 7 - How Soon Is Now
A/N: Thanks for reading. And thanks Jess, my beautiful beta!!
Disclaimer: Thanks ASP and The Smiths!
I am the son
And the heir
Of a shyness that is criminally vulgar
I am the son and the heir
Of nothing in particular
You shut your mouth
How can you say
I go about things the wrong way
I am Human and I need to be loved
Just like everybody else does
There's a club, if you like to go
You could meet somebody who really loves you
So you go, and you stand on your own
And you leave on your own
And you go home, and you cry
And you want to die
When you say it's gonna happen "now"
Well, when exactly do you mean?
See I've already waited too long
And all my hope is gone
Jess and Amber talked well into the night and far into the morning. In fact they were still deep in conversation when Jimmy woke up at six to go to work. As Jimmy crept pasted them, he grinned. It was good to finally see his son happy. And this girl, whoever she was, was now Jimmy's new best friend. She'd planted a sparkle in Jess's eyes that hadn't been there before. The shell is coming alive. Jimmy thought to himself, as he slipped out the door without a sound.
"Please! Coldplay? An alternative band? You are so far out of your depth my friend!" Amber informed Jess playfully. "And I was thinking you had good taste in music! You might as well bust out the Justin albums right now." She smiled.
"You know what? I'm going to forgive you for that. Once. I think you need coffee! You obviously aren't thinking straight." Jess retorted.
"Maybe it's that I'm jet-lagged, I've been awake for nearly thirty hours and I've spent the majority of that time talking to you! But since you're offering…" Amber held out her mug for Jess to refill.
When Jess got back with the fresh coffees, Amber had fallen asleep on the couch. He could've woken her and she wouldn't have minded. But the truth was… Jess only kept talking because he didn't want to sleep. When he slept, he saw Rory and he was tired of feeling guilty. He was tired of loving someone that didn't love him back.
He looked back to Amber. She was the first girl he'd ever slept with. She was pretty, she was cool, she was nice, in a weird kind of way and she brought out a side of Jess, that no one else ever saw. There was just something about Amber that said "I won't judge you and I'm always here for you." And it wasn't her mouth, because Amber just would never say anything that clichéd. Jess pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. If life was simple, he was sure he could convince himself to fall in love with Amber and forget Rory… But it wasn't, so he couldn't. The phone jangled loudly, interrupting him from his thoughts and threatening to wake Amber. He leaped over the coffee table to answer it.
"Yeah?" Jess answered in his usual monosyllabic tone.
"Jess. It's Luke."
"Hi."
"Hi. So uh… I shoulda called earlier… But… Uh…"
"Luke what?"
"Some girl stopped by in town looking for you a couple of days ago. Said she was a friend of yours. Had a bit of a run in with Rory. Look, I know it's none of my business, but… If you left town for a girl… You shoulda said something to Rory. She deserved that much."
"You're right! It's none of your business. Is that all Luke?"
"Actually, there is one more thing. Your mom and her new boyfriend are getting married here. I want you to drag your scrawny butt back here for the wedding. But look, I have to go. Caesar's having a nervous breakdown because it's so early. The wedding's in two weeks. Uh… bye."
With that Luke left Jess listening to a dial tone. Huh. My mom's getting married in the town she grew up in. Logical. And now I have to go back there. Shit.
"Who's Luke?" Amber asked groggily.
"Did I wake you?"
"Yes. Who's Luke?"
"My uncle from Stars Hollow."
"The grumpy one?"
"Yeah."
"Jess. I'm tired. So why don't you save yourself and me the energy of fighting about how long it'll take for you to tell me whatever it is you're not telling me."
"My mom's getting married."
"Again? Huh."
"The wedding's in Stars Hollow."
"Again, I say huh."
"Luke wants me to go."
"Ah. Therein lies the problem right?"
Jess didn't answer. He sat on the edge of the coffee table and ran his hands through his thick, dark hair. Amber knew this as a sign of worry from the boy of no feelings. And when he went silent with her, she knew not to push it any further. At times like this (not that there were many) Jess needed to be left alone with his thoughts. That way he could reach his own conclusions and be totally sure he was making the right decisions for him. So Amber rolled over and drifted off to sleep, while Jess just sat, staring at a stain on the carpet. Damn weddings. Damn Jimmy. Damn everything that had led up to this damn moment.