Shoot the Breeze: Chapter Five

Rory groaned and rolled over, successfully falling off the couch with a soft thud. She looked around the room, her eyes still adjusting to the light seeping in through the window. A stack of blankets lay on the floor, a note sat on top of them.

Well I see you took your sweet time getting out of bed. Tsk, tsk. I guess you get to miss out on Luke's.

–Mom

P.S. Don't yell at the paper, it's completely innocent. Call my cell.

She smiled as she picked up the phone, last night had been fun. Family fun.

"Hello?" The voice that answered was a older women, definitely not her mother.

"Hi, I think I have the wrong number."

"No honey, it's Patty. Your mom stepped out for a second."

"Put the phone down, or get out of my Diner." called Luke from the background. He sounded angrier then normal and Rory knew why.

Chris.

"Don't be such a downer Luke. Women don't like men with bad attitudes." She could practically hear Luke roll his eyes. "Which reminds me…" Here it comes. "Babette told me about you and the boy from the market." She cringed.

"Yeah um…we kind of grew apart and…" She trailed off, not knowing how to finish. She was talking to the town gossip, best to be as vague as possible.

"Say no more, I completely understand. Every women gets bored, it's only a matter of time. No one blames you for leaving Dean. Now you can move on to bigger and badder things." She recognized the meaning behind that statement and it caused her to feel pity for Jess. Ms. Patty had a bad habit of undressing people with her eyes. If she were Jess, she'd be terrified.

"Yeah." She swallowed the lump in her throat before continuing.

"Don't be modest, Rory. I've seen the way he looks at you. Is he feisty? I bet he's feisty. A lot of bad boy's like it rough." Rory was never a religious person but if there was a God out there, she hoped he was hearing this. "My third week on Broadway, I met this wonderful man. His name was Charles. He liked everything; handcuffs, ropes. He was quite the fan of the whip for a time-"

"Oh god." She nearly gagged on her own saliva.

"Oh, I'm sorry dear, are you too young for this?"

"Yes." She squeaked quickly. The mental images continued to swirl around her young head.

"Just realize that no one blames you for moving on so quickly. Dean will get over it, the boy can only cry for so long." She suddenly felt guilty. She really liked Jess but she had loved Dean for two years. How could she have forgotten about him so fast? She hadn't even wallowed correctly and now she was planning on going on a date with another guy? What would Dean think? What would the town think?

"And Jess is definitely something to look at. Now that I think about it, he reminds me of this other man I dated. Gary was more of the love 'em and leave 'em type but once you got him tied down, he was all yours."

"Patty? What are you doing with my cell phone?" Lorelai's voice was a breath of fresh air. If there was any doubt in her mind that she was her best friend, it was gone now.

"Oh, don't worry dear. Me and Rory were just having a friendly discussion."

"Friendly, huh?"

"Of course." She replied innocently, flashing her patented Ms. Patty smile. There was a brief shuffling as the phone changed owners and footsteps as she exited the diner.

"Hi daughter."

"Don't you 'hi daughter' me! I'm experiencing mental images that involve Ms. Patty, a whip and some guy named Gary who looks a little too much like Jess!"

She tried not to laugh at her daughter's desperation. "There goes my breakfast."

"I think I need to wash my brain out with soap! Where were you?"

"Your dad had a little accident."

"What do you mean?"

"Luke accidentally dropped a tray of orange juice in his lap."

"Accidentally?" Somehow Rory knew it wasn't an accident.

"Yeah, he tripped."

"Tripped?" she repeated, letting the doubt creep into her voice.

"What, you don't believe me?"

"I do it's just…" He's in love with you and you… "Nothing, I forgot what I was going to say."

"Are you sure you're alright? You're starting to scare me."

"I'm fine." She answered quickly. "Just a little tired."

"Well, I've got exactly 5 minutes and 32 seconds before Michel calls to tell me that I'm in danger of being close to late."

"Well, you can't miss that. Bye Mom."

"Bye, kid."

She sighed when she heard the click. Today would be an interesting day.

He couldn't sleep. Jess rarely could. The only place he found solace at was the bridge. It was quiet. It reminded him of Washington Square Park when he was little. He'd be so lost in a book that the noises around him would be completely drowned out.

He could lay back and sleep without worrying about interruption. Any trespassers would be given away the second they stepped onto the wooden blanks, giving him ample time to heighten his senses once again. But somehow today was different. No matter how hard he tried, Jess could do nothing but sit there and stare at the water. He couldn't even concentrate on the book in his hands.

He didn't like this feeling. He wasn't in control of his own actions anymore. He kept repeating that conversation over in his head.

No pressure.

Why had he said that? What did it mean? Could he touch her? Kiss her?

He smirked to himself as he thought about the latter. Kissing Rory Gilmore. He could definitely get used to that…and various other things.

"Don't get carried away, Mariano." He said to no one as he lifted himself into a standing position. He hadn't even been out with her yet and he was already letting his mind wander.

Maybe it was time to pay a certain Gilmore a visit.

She was in her pajamas, a box sat in front of her. She was going to mourn Dean and she was going to do it right. There would be no laughing or pillows or popcorn, just two boxes; one of tissues and one of Dean.

She opened the box and looked inside. The corn starch sat on the top and she smiled. Her first kiss. That kiss had been painfully similar to every other kiss she had shared with him. There was no variation but somehow it didn't matter. She'd be no where if it weren't for that kiss, blushing whenever a guy looked her way.

Next was a Valentine's Day card. She ran her hand over the pink lettering.

Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
As night turns to day,
And day into night,
I am left remembering,
This girl in my sight.

So as roses stay red,
And violets are blue,
While seconds pass by,
I can't wait to see you.

-Julie Kerouac

With Love,

Dean Forester

She smiled at the memory. Somehow it didn't matter that Dean had no clue who Julie Kerouac was. After all, It's the thought that counts.

Next was the bracelet. It was so simple and yet it meant the world to him. It was the symbol of their relationship and Jess had stolen it. Yes, she knew it was him, though she would never call him on it. It was one of the things that had attracted her to him in the first place. He had tried to silently break them apart. He was daring. He was scary yet thrilling at the same time.

She internally smacked herself for thinking of Jess at a time like this. That was like laughing at a funeral. It just wasn't allowed.

She looked back at the box, it's contained a few more cards, her formal dress, a stuffed animal, and a dried out tulip. She sighed, none of this was going to make her cry, it only made her feel guilty.

A knock at the door interrupted her internal struggle. She sighed heavily once again as she got to her feet and headed for the door.

"This better not be Babette." That is definitely not Babette. "Speak of the devil and he appears."

He was outside, leaning against the door frame. Her body immediately filled with panic. What if Babette saw? She would tell Ms. Patty and then everything she said would be true. She didn't want to flaunt this is in Dean's face.

She opened the door a crack before sticking her head out slightly. "Jess? What are you doing here?"

He smirked, good question. "I was looking over my history homework and it suddenly hit me. We never discussed what happened between World War I and World War II. Did time freeze? Did the world as we know it cease to exist?"

"Jess…"

"Hey, you're the tutor. I'm the student. You're supposed to know these things."

"Jess, why are you really here?"

"I don't know, why are you whispering and hiding behind the door?"

"Jess, just get in here." She stated as she grabbed his shirt and pulled him through the opening as quickly as possible. She pushed him against the door as she peeked her head out one last time.

He just watched her, his eyes dancing with amusement. She was walking on egg shells and didn't seem to notice that her hand was placed carelessly on his chest. He cleared his throat, hoping she would remove it before he was forced to retaliate.

She shut the door gently, satisfied that no one had witnessed his entry, and then looked at him. He looked downwards, motioning silently to her hand.

Her face immediately reddened as she dropped it to her side and looked at the ground. "Sorry."

"No problem." He tried not to smile as he looked her over. She was in her pajamas, her hair was tied back into a loose pony tail, and there was no make up to be seen. "Did I wake you up?"

"No, I'm wallowing."

"Wallowing?" He repeated while lifting a questioning eyebrow at her.

"Never mind." She replied quickly. "Do you want something to drink?"

"I'm good." His eyes met hers, causing her to shift uncomfortably. He shouldn't be doing this, he knew it but he didn't really care. He's made a point to ignore his conscience, it's never helped him in the past.

"Did you really come here to study?"

"No, not really."

"Then why did you come?"

"I was bored."

"Oh, well you can stay if you want. I've got plenty of junk food and movies. The house is surprisingly clean. I think my mom even put of load of laundry in this morning." She replied as she gave the room a look over. Since when did her mom go all Martha Stewart on her?

"That sounds good."

She smiled as she headed for the living room "Okay, the fun's this way."

"Chris, are you almost done?" He had been in the bathroom for over 15 minutes stubbornly insisting that 'He had to get the stain out.'

"I'll be out in a second."

"Chris." She whined. "Just let me in. I can help."

"I'm sorry Lor but I'm still a little uneasy after the last time you tried to help me with my laundry."

"That was sixth grade." She pointed out. She had accidentally turned his gym clothes pink and the basketball team had called him "Christopher Gay-den" for the rest of his sports career. She smiled at the memory. "My house wife skills have greatly improved."

"Oh really? Is that why you keep shoes in the oven and have a 40 year old jar of mayonnaise growing in the fridge?"

"That has been in there a long time hasn't it?" She thought to herself. When was the last time she had seen a jar of mayonnaise?

Crash. "Shit!"

"That's it I'm coming in." She almost died laughing as she entered the small bathroom. There was Chris, lying on the floor in a puddle of water, staring at the ceiling in defeat. "Nice view, huh?"

"Oh yeah. You can never fully appreciate a room until you've looked at it from this angle."

"You look like you peed your pants." She pointed out. Luke had done a great job with that orange juice.

"Thanks for the support."

"Luke's not usually that clumsy."

"Yeah well, I think he was too busy staring at you to realize much of anything."

"He wasn't staring at me."

"Oh please, the guy's completely in love with you." He replied as he go to his feet and brushed himself off. She just looked at him oddly.

Luke? In love with her? Yeah, right.

To Be Continued...