Growing Up Gilmore
By Regina Halliwell
Chapter 1: "Keg! Luke!"
Summary: Stars Hollow High's Principal is in a more giving mood… so much, in fact, that he gives Jess one last chance to graduate.
Rating: PG-13 for mild profanity and adult situations
Pairings: This one's mainly Literati (Rory/Jess) but also has some Java Junkie (Luke/Lorelai) and later on some Paris/Tristan and possibly some Lane/Dave
Disclaimer: Don't own it. Wish I did. Just don't take my own plot lines and characters.
Jess knocked reluctantly on the glass part of the door leading to the office of Stars Hollow High's principal. He had been asked to go down here while attempting to buy prom tickets for Rory and himself. When no one answered, Jess almost turned and left, but then thought sadly about Rory and how disappointed she would be in him. After considering this, Jess knocked again, this time on the embossed letters on the glass reading, Mr. John Parise, Principal, and this time received a strong reply.
"Come in." Jess heard from inside, undoubtedly from the principal's mouth.
After sighing, Jess opened the door and stepped inside. His principal stood there, leering down at Jess disapprovingly, and them smiled and said, "Well, well. Jess Mariano. What a pleasure. Sit down."
Jess took a seat. The chair was hard and only served to remind him about how uncomfortable he was with this man who controlled his entire future and seemed entirely too joyous about that fact. When there was a dead, painful silence in the room, Jess took the initiative and declared, "I was just trying to buy prom tickets and they told me to go see you."
Mr. Parise only nodded and said to Jess, "So, the prom, huh? I wouldn't have taken you for someone who'd wanna go to the prom."
Rolling his eyes, Jess told his principal, "My girlfriend wants to."
Almost gleefully, his principal replied, "Oh, that's too bad." The way he said this, it sounded to Jess like he was taunting him, luring him in to break the news.
Sounding curious, Jess asked, "What, why?"
"Because you flunked out."
"I'm sorry, I must have misheard you. I what?" Jess demanded, standing up.
The principal smiled and stated, "You're not graduating, Jess. Prom tickets are for graduating seniors only. Guess your girlfriend's outta luck."
Jess, in a moment of desperation, spoke pleadingly to his principal, "Now wait a minute. I'm just a little behind. I can catch up, no sweat."
"You can't, you missed too much," the older man said.
Jess shook his head and told the principal, "It hasn't been that much."
The principal, almost pitying Jess at that point, stayed with his former decision, not faltering a bit as he disclosed to Jess, "Thirty-one days you've been out. Cutoff's twenty."
Shaking his head again, Jess informed the principal, almost angrily, "That's impossible. I knew I was going to be cutting it close, but there's no way in hell I missed 31 days! I wouldn't do that." Drifting off, Jess thought again of his girl friend.
As the principal watched Jess's behavior, he seemed to change his opinion of the boy. Though a slacker and uninspired as they come, this kid is really passionate. He must really want to graduate, or really love this girl of his.
"Mr. Mariano," the principal began, "Are you sure that you didn't miss that many days?"
Jess simply nodded.
"Very well. I'll check your attendance record." Jess's principal turned to the computer, and began typing. He clicked a few times, and then looked up. "Nope. 31 days. I'm not making it up."
Jess thought for a moment, and then asked, "Aren't those computers new? Do you have my file from before you got the computers?"
"We have it, but I don't see your point here."
"Just go check it already, will you!" Jess exclaimed.
The principal touched the speakerphone and said to it, "Someone get me Jess Mariano's file, please. The hard copy."
They sat once again in an uncomfortable silence until the office door shied open. A middle aged woman stepped through. After the woman handed the principal a manila folder with Jess's name on it, the principal told the woman thank you. She left closing the door behind her.
Opening Jess's file, the principal flipped through a few papers and then settled for looking at one. Jess could only assume it was his attendance record. He knew he was right when the principal said, "Hmm, well this is odd. The hard copy of your attendance record say you only missed 21 days. I'm going to check the dates of absence to see which one's right.
After a moment, the principal frowned and told him, "The 31 must be a typo. However, you still can't graduate. Cutoff's 20 remember?"
Jess saw his opportunity here. "Look, Mr. Parise. I have to graduate. I love my girlfriend. She would be show ashamed of me if I have to redo senior year. See, my girlfriend is most likely this years valedictorian at Chilton Preparatory School."
"Really. Who is she?
"Rory Gilmore, sir." As Jess said the sir, he winced. The whole penitent thing was just a charade, anyway. But showing respect to this man… so unlike him.
The things you do for love… Jess thought, before realizing exactly what he had said. I love Rory Gilmore. Holy shit. I can't be in love. I've never been in love. But I am. I love Rory Gilmore. I love Ror—"
"Did she ever go here?" Mr. Parise asked, drawing Jess out of his deep reverie. All thoughts of love were pushed aside as he mechanically gave the principal the answer to his question.
"Yeah, but she transferred a while back because she got in to Chilton." Jess informed Mr. Parise, not really knowing where this particular conversation was heading.
"Nice girl," Mr. Parise commented, obviously referring to Rory. "Exceptionally bright." After a moment of thinking, the principal asked Jess, "What is Rory Gilmore doing with a deviant like you?"
Jess, nonplussed, deadpanned, "Maybe you should ask her that."
The principal raised an eyebrow only slightly, but seemingly in a warning tone. Jess sighed, wiping his hands haphazardly on the sides on his jeans, and then began to speak again, less sardonically this time.
"I know I don't deserve a girl like her. Don't you think I have everyone in this crap town telling me that everyday? My own uncle tells me that. Rory… Rory's with me because she's free to be herself around me. No pretenses and whatnot. We're on the same level intellectually and psychologically. Plus, we share the good taste in literature and music. We just…click."
Mr. Parise, noting Jess's sincerity as he spoke, and the content of his words as well, spoke sympathetically. "Are you telling me that you think that you are as smart as Rory Gilmore and that you have read classic novels such as The Turn of the Screw, The Red Room, The Good Earth, The Grapes of Wrath, and The Great Gatsby? Because those five alone Miss Gilmore wrote impeccable literary essays on in her freshman year here."
Jess told him, almost arrogantly, "Countless times. I've read those, and about a thousand others. I'm personally a fan of Hemingway. That's what Rory and I do. We read, and we argue about what we read, and then we read some more. See," Jess finished, pulling out a paperback copy of The Old Man and the Sea from the back pocket of his pants and showing it to the principal.
Apparently astounded, Mr. Parise shook his head disbelievingly and then cleared his throat. "Are you that… um… well versed in your other subjects?"
Jess shrugged then said, "I guess. I'm best at English, but I'm competent enough in History. Math and science aren't too tough."
"What about languages?"
"I took a few years of French a while back. I wanted to take Spanish, but the classes were full and so I took French instead. I've got about two and a half decent years of that down. Of course, I barely managed a C, because anything higher would require some actual participation on my part." Jess said, and Mr. Parise nodded.
"Well, Mr. Mariano. What should we do here? Even with the typo, you are still one absence over the graduation limit."
"Look, Mr. Parise, I really need to graduate this year. Can't you make an exception for me please? Is there any extra work I could possibly do to catch up? I'd be willing to do it. I have to do it. If I don't graduate, I'll lose my home and my girlfriend all in the same day. I can't do that," Jess pleaded.
The principal thought for a moment, though to Jess it seemed like an hour. While Jess didn't particularly care whether or not he graduated, he knew Rory did. And he loves Rory, so…
The thought of love entered Jess's mind once again, but he stopped that particular thought process as Mr. Parise's mind was made up and he spoke aloud, telling Jess, "There would be a tremendous amount of effort required on your part… very time consuming and you'd have to ace all your finals next week…"
Jess was overwhelmed. Or rather, the Rory inside his head was excited for him. He was incredibly lucky that Mr. Parise was in a good mood today. Standing up, Jess moved to walk out the door when Mr. Parise coughed. Looking at him, Jess saw the man was holding out his hand to be shaken. Jess took it and weakly shook his hand before turning around and ambling towards the closed door. As he clutched the doorknob, Mr. Parise said from behind him, "See Mrs. Kenney at the end of the day. By then I'll have spoken to your teachers and determined what you need to achieve in order to graduate."
Jess nodded affirmatively and moved as if to leave. While he was in the doorway, he realized something and turned around. "Does that mean I get prom tickets?"
As Rory and Jess headed over to the party, Dave, Lane, Zach, and Brian were still setting up. As Zach and Brian discussed microphone placement, Dave pulled Lane aside. He took her arm and led her into the empty dining room…away from Young Chui. Kyle had finally removed all the china and glassware, so the room seemed very plain and bare.
"Look Lane," Dave began, "I guess I'm just having some issues here with Young Chui. He's following you around everywhere like your slave. He likes you too much."
Lane frowned and told him, "I know. I'm sorry. I can't seem to get rid of him. I know he likes me, and I'm sorry I haven't done anything about it yet, I just don't know what to do."
He looked down at the floor for a minute, pensive. When he looked up again, Lane stepped tentatively forward and took his check in her hand and kissed him. When their mouths touched softly together, she slid her fingers through his dark hair and pulled him even closer.
Feeling this, Dave took his hand to her waist and slowly stroked the small of her back while deepening the kiss to a level they had never gone before. She eagerly responded and after a minute they stopped, both out of breath. As Dave gradually pulled away from her, he smiled, and then glanced at her with a questioning look of wonder. As he was about to ask why she had kissed him like that, she put a finger to his lips and told him, "I needed you to know, so that you're not worrying, that I am not attracted to Young Chui. Yes, he is Korean and nice and smart and he obviously treats me well but… well, Young Chui doesn't make me laugh. He isn't spontaneous or wacky and he couldn't to save his life name one Clash song for me. You are so much more than he could ever be to me."
Dave started to say something, but Lane butted in again, seemingly thinking out loud, "My god I just realized how incredibly cheesy that sounded. I am turning into one of those stupid romantic comedy movie actresses who have never had a real romance in their life but try to express those sorts of feelings anyway but end up making a World War II sized mess out of it and—"
Dave cut Lane's rant off by kissing her again. This one wasn't as passionate as the first, but more loving and sweet. When Lane finally stepped back, her eyes were lit up and she had an endearing smile on her face.
"I guess now I can't be jealous anymore, can I?" Dave asked, teasing.
"Nope. 'Cause now you know that I am yours and no one else's. Unless you think that I would kiss other guys like that…" Lane broke off, still smiling.
"Of course I don't. Then again, if you can hide a hundred cds from your mother for more than 10 years, you could probably hide an affair with the Korean kid from me."
While his tone was light, the mention of Mrs. Kim was disheartening. It took Lane's sweet smile right off her face. Now the issue wasn't Young Chui, it was the problem that Lane and Dave had been arguing about for a while: how to tell Mrs. Kim about their romance.
"Lets tell her." Lane made the suggestion calmly, though inside she had been dreading saying those words. The mere mention of the subject brought Lane's imagination go wild by thinking of all the possible ways her mother could kill her. "Soon," she added.
"Soon." Dave agreed. Then it was final; decided. "We'll tell her soon. But right now, lets go play some rock and roll."
Lorelai approached to door to a room at the Independence Inn. She knocked lightly, trying to mimic how she thought a maid should knock. A voice from inside called, "Yeah?"
Lorelai, not noticing who the voice belonged to, answered, "Turn down."
The manly sounding voice responded, "Come on in."
The brunette opened the door and walked on in just as she had for the other turn down services that evening. While she closed the door, she began saying, "Hello there. This won't take long. Luke." While she had walked into the room like normal, the person she had found inside was the last she had expected.
"Lorelai."
Surprised to see the diner owner there, she asked, "What are you doing here?"
His reply straightened everything out. "You invited me, remember?"
"No," Lorelai stated. "I remember inviting you and Nicole. Now, you are here, sans Nicole. What's that all about?" As she finished speaking, Lorelai moved to sit in the edge of the bed next to Luke.
"I just, I was thinking. She asked me to meet her parents, you know, and I just, I was okay with it at first. Hut then, the more I thought about it, the more I realized how completely not ready I am for that sort of commitment. When I told Nicole that yesterday, she kinda flipped and broke it off."
"Ergo the whole her not being here part."
"Exactly," Luke said.
"Luke, I'm so sorry. I know you guys were on the verge of something really good." Lorelai did her best to console him but something inside her was not at all unhappy that Luke was now single. Brushing the feeling away, she turned to her best friend (besides Rory and Sookie of course) and hugged him.
Luke was so surprised. He tensed up as he felt her graceful arms holding him tightly. After a moment, he relaxed and hugged her back with the same strength.
Now Lorelai rested her head on his shoulder, and their hug was looser. Luke commented gruffly, "It's prob'ly for the best, anyway."
"No, Luke. Don't be like that. You liked her, and just because you weren't ready for a high level of commitment doesn't give her the right to break off a perfectly good, stable relationship with a sweet, sexy, maddening, flannel and baseball cap wearing diner man." Realizing what she had said, Lorelai blushed as she waited for him to respond.
Luke abruptly took in a breath as she finished her little speech. The end had left him speechless, so instead of words he pulled away in order to look into her eyes. He wanted to know what she had meant by saying those things about him.
She couldn't possibly… no. If she was oblivious to me for six years, why would she be telling me this now?
Looking into her bright blue eyes, he saw her sincerity. She gazed at him with affection, desire, and even sadness. While he was staring at her, she was staring right back. And what she saw scared her. As soon as she looked into his eyes, she saw the love and adoration he felt for her. Suddenly images flashed through her head.
She had flashbacks, scenes of the two of them arguing, bickering, though it was now obvious that they had been flirting all along. Scenes of Rory telling her how much Luke liked her, Jess telling them to get on with it and even asking if they were sleeping together because of the way she had described him. Random glances Luke had thrown her way suddenly were not passed off as coincidence, but as intentional. He was in love with her and she hadn't even noticed it in the 6 years they had known each other.
Luke could somehow tell what Lorelai was thinking. He noticed the way she looked, pensive and wondering. Then, feeling it was the right time, Luke took a chance and leaned in to kiss her.
The band was taking a short break from playing at the party. Zach and Brian had gone off to find a keg, and that left Lane and Dave. And… Young Chui. The pathetic Korean came up to Lane bearing a red plastic cup of water. He tried to hand it to her, but Dave cut him off.
"Look Young Chui, this has gone on long enough. I know that you like Lane, but she is my girlfriend. Mine. So… that means that you can't have her. Plus, she's not really interested in you anyway," Dave said, a little harsher than he meant to.
"Lane?" Young Chui looked hurt. "Is this true?"
"I'm so sorry if I led you on, Young Chui. But, I'm with Dave, and I'm going to stay with Dave. There's no room for you in that picture. So I'd appreciate it if you would quit following me around and doing favors for me. I'm not going to change my mind." Lane answered him, though she almost felt bad for the kid.
Young Chui listened to what Lane said, then replied, "Mrs. Kim does not know about your relationship. She would never approve of you sneaking around. I am better for you than that American is."
Dave was getting a little agitated now, so Lane clasped his hand, trying to convey the feelings she had expressed to him earlier in the evening so he wouldn't get upset.
"Young Chui, Dave and I are going to tell Mama soon about us. Probably tomorrow. Now, I hope that you can understand that even though my mother would pick you over Dave any day, I wouldn't. I'm not. I am dating Dave, and there's nothing that you can do or say to change that."
"Fine, I will leave you alone." Young Chui agreed, though he didn't look particularly happy about it.
"Thank you, young Chui." Lane told him warmly.
"Yeah, thanks," Dave added, still holding Lane's hand.
Young Chui nodded and walked away sullenly. As soon as he had left the room, Rory, who had been standing a few feet away, walked eagerly towards the couple. She approached them and asked, "Well, what was that all about?"
Lane answered, "Dave and I are going to tell Mama Kim. We just had to get Young Chui out of the picture."
Rory nodded, "Yeah, he didn't look all too joyous as he left. I guess he really liked you, huh?"
Dave nodded to this and said, "Oh he liked her all right. He was about ready to build a shrine to her right here at the party."
Lane rolled her eyes at this and then smiled at Rory. "So where's Jess," she asked.
"Oh, he's around here somewhere. I think I saw him helping those idiots learn how to use that keg." Rory responded, giggling.
After she said this, Jess emerged from the kitchen holding two plastic cups and walked towards her. Rory smiled at him and then as she noted the two cups, she started to say, "Oh, I don't want any alc—"
Jess smirked at her and shook his head, tilting the cup towards her a little. When she saw what was inside, she smiled. It was some sort of carbonated clear soda… probably Sprite or 7up.
"You know me too well," she commented smugly.
Jess simply smiled back at her and then took a drink of his beer. She followed suit and sipped her pop.
"Okay, well. That's all great, but we should probably go back and start up the next set." Dave told the two of them. Nodding questioningly at Lane, she smiled back at him.
"You guys are great. We'll see you later." Rory told them as they walked off. When she turned back to Jess, he was gulping the remainder of his drink. When finished, he looked at Rory and took her hand gently, pulling her towards the stairs. She took another sip of her soda then set it down and followed Jess.
As he led her up the stairs, they passed Dean and Lindsay talking quietly on the landing. Dean briefly glanced at her and frowned slightly but then looked back to his girlfriend. Jess and Rory walked to the top of the stairs and then followed the hallway to an open room. Opening the door, Jess allowed Rory to go in first and then followed after her, shutting the door behind them.
Jess wandered towards the window, while Rory sat herself down on the bed. When he didn't say anything to her, she prompted him, "So, why'd you want to come up here, aside from the obvious, I mean?"
Jess's brow crinkled in frustration immediately. He told her, "You know Rory, that's not why I brought you up here. I didn't expect us to have sex tonight you know. Maybe sometime, but… hmm. I just wanted to talk to you about school. You know, and stuff. Graduation stuff."
Suddenly Rory felt awful. She knew that Jess was… experienced when it came to sex, but what she said had been meant as a joke. Simply sarcasm.
She stood up, and took his left wrist in her hands and gently held it, running her fingers over his hand and forearm. He was tense and guarded, but she could tell he was hurt by what she had said.
"It's different with you, Rory. Right now, I'm not even ready to go that far with you, and I'm sure you aren't either. I don't wanna mess things up." Jess said, far more vulnerable than she had ever seen him.
She smiled sweetly at him. "I'm not ready yet either. But, I talked to my mom about. I think I'll be ready soon. And I'm already on The Pill, so we don't need to worry about that. But maybe, soon?"
He smirked. "Soon," he said finally.
The tension dissipated when Rory asked, "So, then what was it you wanted to talk about? Something about graduation?"
"Yeah." Jess stated noncommittally. "I was buying our prom tickets at school today when I got called down to the principal's office. He told me I had been absent one day too many and so I couldn't graduate."
Rory broke in, "But I thought you said that you had it taken care of. Jess, you have to graduate."
Jess shook his head at her. "Don't worry," he told her. "I'll graduate. I just have to move hell and high water to get to that point."
Rory frowned, asking, "What do you mean?"
"Well, for starters I have make up papers and projects to do in every subject, plus I have to ace all my finals." Jess expressed despairingly.
"Hmm. Well, if that's what you need to do to graduate, then that's what we'll do."
"I'm sorry, did you say 'we'?" Jess asked disbelievingly.
Rory nodded and smirked. "What, did you really think I was going to let you try and do all that work by yourself. You'd have given up after an hour. No, of course I'm going to help you."
Jess sighed, and looked at her as if asking if there was any way he could get out of it, and she just moved towards him.
Rory leaned in, drowning out all thoughts of disdain for school with her soft kiss. It wasn't intense, but it was loving and sweet. She pulled him towards the bed as she deepened the kiss. They sat down together, now making out passionately. Jess pulled away after a moment, and looked at her. Rory saw the look in his eyes and the feeling for her he couldn't express aloud. She said it for him.
"I love you, Jess."
After she had told him that, he smiled broadly and told her back, "I love you too, Rory," before pulling her mouth back to his for an deep kiss.