Disclaimer: I own nothing but my imagination.

CHAPTER 4: HERE'S LOOKING AT YOU, KID

"So how was dinner with Richie Rich?" Jess asked casually, sprawled out on the couch, flipping through a magazine when Luke came upstairs.

"Fine. Weird. I dunno," Luke replied. "That kid bugs me."

"Oh yeah?" Jess said, feigning disinterest.

"Yeah, and his family is insane," Luke continued. He paused for a moment.

"Jess?"

"What?"

"No."

"No, what?" he asked innocently.

"Look, I don't like that kid any more than you do, but don't go there," Luke warned.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jess said calmly, closing his magazine and standing up. "But if I did know what you were talking about, I might say that you of all people should know that it is impossible to not go there." He stretched and walked out the door. "Later."

"Are you on crack?" Lorelai shrieked.

"Lorelai Gilmore! I am appalled. There was no cocaine involved in this decision; be serious," Emily retorted.

"Sorry, Mom. It's just, you know, the thought of a society engagement party is so… pro-me-and-Luke. And, y'know, that's not you," Lorelai said.

"Nonsense," Emily replied. "You're a Gilmore, however you choose to shirk the responsibility, and you will have an engagement party. Now have a guest list to me by Monday so we can invite your townspeople."

"Ah, yes, the clan, my people; well, you can take our lives, but you'll never take our freedom!" she cried.

Emily sniffed. "Rory, what is she talking about?"

Rory just grinned. "Nothing, Grandma. That means, yes, we'll invite the important Stars Hollow people."

"I've always wondered; are we Stars Hollowans? Stars Hollowites?" Lorelai pondered.

Emily rolled her eyes while Rory snickered.

"Hey Lu-uke…." Lorelai called, hanging over the counter.

"What?" Luke said, crankily, pulling the pencil from over his ear, ready to write down the next order.

"You know, you have a really symmetrical face," she cooed.

"Thanks," he said dryly. "And that means what, exactly?"

"Well it's like that thing I saw on TV once, where all the beautiful people are beautiful because they have symmetrical faces, and I'm just saying, you have a very symmetrical face."

Luke just looked at her, then went back to what he was doing. "Whaddya want."

"I love how we know each other so well that we can read each other's thoughts! Here, let's try finishing each other's sentences. 'Luke really wants to have a fancy engagement party because…' "

Luke raised his eyebrows. "…he has gone temporarily insane."

Lorelai pouted. "Aw, honey, no. I guess we're not so good at this after all. The correct response was 'because I heart Lorelai.' "

"I'm sorry, what?" Luke said, confused.

"You know, like the t-shirts. It's like I heart New York. You heart Lorelai," she said matter-of-factly.

"I must, cuz I guess we're havin' a party," he said defeatedly.

"Ooh! Now I heart Luke!" she said giddily.

"What's this about a party?" Jess asked, walking downstairs, a duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

"Oh, um, well, my mother is throwing us an engagement party. It's going to be boring, though. You know, just a bunch of mom's stuffy friends, everyone in monkey suits, the whole nine yards, we'll probably sleep through it," she said breezily.

"Huh," Jess grunted.

Luke looked at him. "What, do you wanna go or somethin'?"

Jess paused, as if he were considering it a formal invitation. "Sure," he said. "Well, Luke, it's been real. See you later," he said to both of them.

Luke and Lorelai just looked at each other, neither willing to address the potential problem.

"Hey Luke, you know what else I heart?"

"One cup of coffee, comin' right up."

An orchestra was playing in the large ballroom where the engagement party was in full swing.

"Well, don't you clean up nicely," Lorelai teased.

"I try," Rory said.

"Twirl for Mommy," Lorelai commanded. Rory complied, her dress swirling around as she spun. She almost lost her balance coming out of her twirl, but Logan caught her and turned it into a dip, bringing her up slowly.

"Whoa, thanks," she said, slightly embarrassed.

"Anytime," Logan said, smiling charmingly.

"My night in shining….tuxedo," she said, recovering.

"Yes, my apologies, next time I'll bring the Dramamine," he said with a smirk. She playfully hit his shoulder.

Lorelai looked mildly uncomfortable. "So, Logan. Is your family here?" she asked pointedly.

Logan just smiled. "Yes, and we're hiding from them, so if you hear - "

"Logan!" a woman called. A tall blonde came over.

"Logan, there you are," said Honor. "Hi, Rory."

"Hey, Honor, where's Josh?" Rory asked.

"Oh, he's off talking with some of his old friends from prep school," Honor replied.

"Oh! Mom, this is Honor, Logan's sister. Honor, this is my mom, Lorelai," Rory said.

"Hi, delighted to meet you," Honor said.

"Super-excited to meet you," Lorelai replied peppily. Honor looked at her like she wasn't sure she was being sarcastic or not.

"Ok, Logan, just to let you know, Mom's on the lookout for you," Honor warned.

Rory and Lorelai exchanged a look. "Go, my darling. If you don't go, you'll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life," Lorelai said dramatically.

"Thanks, Rick," Rory said.

"No, really, go, hide," Lorelai said. "Who, Logan? Never met the kid. Oh wait, was that the blond boy I saw leaving about an hour ago?" she said to Honor with a vacant expression.

Honor grinned. "I like you," she said.

"Everyone does," Lorelai replied. "Martini?"

Rory grabbed Logan's hand and led him out of the ballroom.

"Well, you know the rule, Ace," Logan said.

"I know, I know. First things first: form a sub-party."

"Exactly," he said emphatically. They almost made a clear getaway, until they turned the corner.

"Jess!" Rory said with a look of surprise on her face. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I had nothing better to do on a Friday night, so I thought I'd drop by and support dear old Uncle Luke," he said dryly.

Rory was momentarily stunned by the unlikely sight of Jess in a tuxedo, but made a quick recovery.

"Hey, you remember Jess," she said, squeezing Logan's hand.

"Of course," Logan said easily.

Jess forced a smile. "I'm sorry, I don't recall your name?" he said to Logan.

"Logan. Huntzberger," Logan said, a hint of steel in his voice.

"Right," Jess said, shaking a finger in the air.

"Hey, Rory, how 'bout a dance for old times' sake," Jess said, his hands resting in his pockets.

"Oh, um," Rory said, clearly flustered.

"Go ahead," said Logan, only challenging Jess with his eyes. "I'll go round up the gang and meet you in the solarium."

"Well, um, if you're sure," said Rory.

"Of course," Logan said, giving her a not-so-brief kiss before leaving.

"Jess," he said in recognition. Logan smiled and headed off to find his friends.

Jess offered his arm, and Rory hesitantly took it. He led her to the dance floor. As they began to dance, Rory noticed how the back of his hair just barely curled over the collar of his tuxedo, and forced herself to stop noticing things like that.

"So…here for Luke, huh," Rory said.

"Yup," he replied as they swayed from side to side.

"Hm. So, have you seen him yet?" she asked.

"I will," he replied. "Later."

"Ah, yes, 'later.' That's always been my favorite time. Probably why I like to say 'hasta luego' so much. That, and I've heard it's important to be bilingual in today's world. Don't you agree?" she rambled.

"Yup," he said.

Rory sighed. "Ok, Jess, really. Why are you here? This isn't your scene."

"Well, now, that's a little presumptuous of you. You don't really know what my scene is anymore, now, do you?" he said.

"Well, no, not really, I guess, but - "

"So then this could be my scene. My new scene," he added.

She looked at him questioningly but said nothing.

From across the room, Lorelai shot a suspicious look at Rory and Jess.

"Luke," she said, tugging on his sleeve. "What is up with that kid? Doesn't he know that enough's enough? Give up, man."

Luke glanced in their general direction. He knew exactly what Jess what up to; he also understood his motivation.

"Ah, don't worry about it. Besides, don't we hate the Huntzbergers?"

Lorelai looked worried. "Well, I mean, y'know, yeah. But just because someone has a crazy family doesn't necessarily mean that they should be blamed for them."

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Ok, I know when not to challenge a statement, and that is a very non-challengeable statement."

"You know what I mean. I'm not exactly planning their wedding, contrary to my parents' wishes. I just don't want Rory to have to deal with any more drama. She's got enough to worry about without Jess coming back and confusing her."

"Well, the last time he came she told him where to go, so I wouldn't worry about it," Luke said, clearly not worried.

"I suppose," sighed Lorelai. She adjusted her dress. "Anyway. You know what would go good with this martini?" she asked.

"Another martini?" Luke offered.

"I love that you know me," she said, setting her empty glass on a tray as a waiter walked by. "Shall we?"

"So…" Rory said. "Hey, did you know that every forty seconds somewhere there is an uncomfortable silence?"

Jess just looked at her, saying nothing.

"Did you hear about the - "

"Rory," he interrupted. "Just shut up and dance," he said calmly, pulling her closer before she realized it. Rory tripped and supported herself against the wall.

"You ok?" he asked, stepping closer.

"I just don't understand how you can come back like nothing ever - " she started in frustration.

"Rory!" she heard.

Colin and Finn walked up. "Hey, have you seen Logan?" Colin asked. "We've been looking for him everywhere."

Finn evaluated the situation. "Oy, mate, watch yourself," he said to Jess. "Alright, Rory?"

"Um, yeah, just got a little dizzy. Is it hot in here to you guys? It's definitely hot," she said.

"Uh huh," said Finn suspiciously. "I just wondered, cuz it looks like he was… leaning."

"Leaning?" inquired Jess.

"Yes. Leaning," Finn said, making the motion with his hand. Jess stepped back, momentarily confused. Rory suddenly laughed.

"Finn," she said admonishingly. "Have you been watching 'While You Were Sleeping?'"

Finn's eyes darted from left to right. "What makes you say that?"

"Oh, Finny Finn Finn," Rory chided.

"Very sensitive of you, dude," said Colin.

"Hey," Finn said defensively. "It was one of a myriad of ways I've tried to bed the elusive Rosemary."

"Romantic," Rory said, rolling her eyes.

"Regular Casanova," Jess offered wryly.

"I'm sorry, have I met you?" Finn asked.

"Don't worry about Finn. He's met me at least four times," Rory said to Jess.

Finn gasped in horror. "I resent that! How could I forget meeting such a lovely -"

"Aaaand thank you, Finn, for watching out for my girlfriend," Logan said, sliding his arm around Rory's waist.

"She was blatantly mocking me, mate," Finn said to Logan.

"Uh huh. About what in particular? The dresses, the tendency to run naked, or maybe your one-man renditions of movies?" Logan said, grinning.

"Hey, noone can do 'Passion' like Finn," said Colin.

"Ooh, Logan, you should ask him to do 'While You Were Sleeping!'" Rory suggested.

"Oh, you can all go to hell," Finn said good-naturedly.

"Well, your handbasket awaits, Ace," Logan said, gesturing toward the solarium. "Let's go, guys." Logan led the sub-party toward the solarium.

"Oh, hold up," she said. She turned to Jess. "Um, you wanna come with or…"

"Nah, I'm gonna find Luke; I'll see you later," Jess said. "Gentlemen. Rory," he said with a half-bow. He lazily strode across the ballroom to find Luke.

Rory followed him with her eyes for a moment. He seemed different. Still cocky, yes. Possibly still badass. But not once did he mention what he said the last time they met, though she would just as soon keep it that way.

"He's a strange one," remarked Finn.

"Whatever, let's go, dude," insisted Colin. They all headed toward the solarium.

"Logan! Rory!" they heard a woman trill.

"Oh God," moaned Logan. "So close."

Finn and Colin managed to scurry around the corner right before Shira made it to the group.

"Rory, don't you look lovely tonight," she said in a fake voice.

"Thank you, Mrs. Huntzberger," Rory said politely.

"Oh, please call me Shira," she gushed. "Logan, be a dear and get your mother a drink," she said, waving him away. Logan sighed but complied. Once he was away, Shira lowered her voice conspiratorially.

"Now listen, dear, I'm terribly upset to hear that you've decided to abandon journalism," she said in hushed tones.

"How did you - "

"Oh Rory," she chuckled. "The DAR knows all," she said with a condescending pat on Rory's arm. "But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. I feel just dreadful about that dinner. It was a stressful evening, and I spoke hastily. You simply must come to tea tomorrow so we can smooth things out," she said decisively.

"Oh, I don't know, um," Rory said in bewilderment.

"Oh, you're too precious!" Shira said with a tinkling laugh. "Of course you'll come."

"Here you go, mother," Logan said, offering her a drink.

"Thank you darling. Well, you children run along. See you tomorrow at 3, Rory!" Shira swept away to another group of socialites.

"What was that all about?" Logan asked, wide-eyed.

"You know, I'm not entirely sure," Rory said. "But I'm starting to feel like I need a drink."

Logan grinned mischievously.

"What?" she asked, smiling conspiratorially.

"Well," Logan said, grabbing two champagne flutes, "here's looking at you, kid."

Rory grinned. "Did I ever tell you you have a very symmetrical face?"

Oh my, what does Shira want with Rory? Let's find out...