Growing Up Gilmore
By Regina Halliwell
Chapter 3: "Here Comes the Rain"
Summary: Dean and Rory chat about her relationship with Jess, Luke and Jess confront Jimmy, and the Prom arrives.
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.
"Dean, I'm sorry. I don't mean to be rude, I was just going to talk to Lane about something kind of important." Rory told her ex-boyfriend as she led him into her house.
"It's fine, Rory. Don't worry about it."
"Okay, I just don't want you to think I'm trying to be mean to you or something. I mean, we are still friends, right?"
"Actually," Dean began, sitting down on the couch in the living room, "Since you bring it up, there is actually something I want to talk to you about, as a friend."
"Sure. Fire away."
"The thing is, Rory, that I still care about you. Not in that boyfriend way, just… I care. I'm worried about you and Jess. I just don't want him to, you, know… take advantage of you. Like, Prom's coming up really soon, and I just think he might…"
Immediately, Rory's face became stern. She shook her head at him disbelievingly. "Are you serious? You're really saying this to me! How dare you! You have no right to pass judgment on my relationship. I trust Jess, and that's all I need. It's none of your business what goes on between us."
Dean became defensive, and countered, "Now, Rory, I'm just looking out for you! He's going to try to sleep with you, and you, well, you can't possibly be ready for that. Especially not with him!"
"Dean, did it ever occur to you that maybe I want to sleep with Jess too? I mean, it's not the most unheard of thing in the world. He loves me, and I love him, and we're ready--"
"My God, Rory. We dated for years and never even came close to having sex. You see this guy for a few months and all the sudden decide you're ready to lose your virginity to him? He's going to sleep with you and then leave you. That's what he's like, Rory. You're going to get your heart broken. All for nothing."
"You are impossible! You don't know him at all! You see the aloof, sarcastic, obnoxious exterior and assume that he's a bad guy. Well he isn't. And he's a better man than you could ever be."
Hearing this, Dean opened his mouth to speak, but could find no words. Suddenly he just turned around and walked out of the house, slamming the door shut behind him. After he had gone, Rory went into her room, flung herself down on the bed, and sighed.
As they walked up to the motel door, Luke asked Jess, "Are you sure about this? I mean, I can always just call him up and tell him to get the hell away from here. You know, leave you alone."
"Nah. We should just get this over with. I wanna know why he's here, and then I want him to go. And never come back."
"Okay, it's your call."
"Go ahead, just knock."
"Here goes." Luke knocked on the door hesitantly. Jess leaned on the wall, out of sight of the doorway. No one answered. They waited. Finally, Jimmy opened the door and saw Luke.
"Huh. Luke. You, uh, well. You found me."
"I'm not the only one."
"What's that supposed to—Jess," he finished as Jess stepped into his sight. "I guess you guys should come on in. Sorry about the mess."
Jess and Luke both shrugged.
"So, Jimmy, what are you doing here?" Luke asked.
"Yeah, Dad, what are ya doin' here?" Jess added scathingly.
"I just…wanted to see you. How you were doing, that sort of thing."
"You wanted to see how I was doing," Jess demanded.
"Yeah."
"After all these years of never calling, never visiting, never caring at all, you just up and decided to come to Stars Hollow to see how I was doing! Wonderful. Just what I wanted. A great big family reunion. Next thing you know Liz'll be showing up."
"Listen Jess, I can't speak for your mother, but as for me, I've got something pretty good going on right now. I've got a live-in girlfriend, an almost-stepdaughter, a steady job, and an actual '4 walls and a roof' house. The only thing really missing from my life was you, so I decided to come and see if you were doing okay."
"I'm fine."
"That's it, you're fine?"
"Yup."
"Huh."
Luke, seeing that not much progress was being made, broke in and added, "Jess is going to graduate from high school soon, he's working two jobs, he quit smoking, he's read practically every book ever written, and he has a bright, beautiful, steady girlfriend."
At this, Jess turned to Luke and glared pointedly.
Jimmy, on the other hand, looked interestedly at Jess. "Really?"
"No, Jimmy, I'm lying." Luke stated sarcastically.
"Whatever, Luke. Hey kid, what's her name?" Jimmy queried.
"Rory."
"Hmm. Interesting name. You uh, you know, yet?" Jimmy asked, raising his eyebrows suggestively.
"Geez, Jimmy! God, no! You're a sick bastard." Jess responded angrily.
"Got it. But, you two are pretty serious, then?"
"Seems that way." Luke intervened, stating simply, "They're in love."
"Geez, Luke, way to make it sound like we're in some cheesy romance novel."
Luke grinned.
"Sookie, what do you mean there's no coffee?" Lorelai asked, bewildered.
"I mean, there's no coffee. The delivery guy never showed with the last shipment," Sookie replied remorsefully.
Sighing heavily, Lorelai thought about her options. 1, she could go without coffee… but for how long? 2, she could go to Luke's. Definitely liking that second option.
"Lorelai, all I can say, is if you need coffee that bad—which I know that you do—you could just go and get some. Just make sure you're back in time for the Shroen meeting."
"Yeah, I think I'm just gonna do that. What's with the Shroen thing again?" Why am I not remembering this? I'm totally out of it.
"Oh you know, they're a power couple that's flown in from Idaho for some sort of business. They requested a meal prepared for them and their client, so I'm making split pea soup, stuffed zucchini, and tiramisu. I was thinking about making some other entrées, maybe some buttermilk fried chicken with--"
"Sookie…"
"Sorry. Anyway, they'll be here at 4:45, so that gives us about 4 hours to do whatever before they arrive."
"Don't need to tell me twice."
"Actually, it seems today I do. What's going on with you Lorelai? You're acting weird. And something is definitely different about you."
"You mean you didn't hear?"
"Well obviously I didn't. What is it?"
"Luke. I'm dating Luke, Sookie."
The end of her sentence was cut off by Sookie's gleeful shrieks. "I am so happy for you! Uh, you two finally got it! After all these years. Wow."
"I don't even know how to respond to that."
"Oh come on, Lorelai. You're together now, there's no need to deny that your constant bantering was really flirting."
"I guess, maybe, you might… possibly have had the right idea."
"Yeah. Of course. Me and the rest of the town. Everyone saw it except the two of you!"
"Was it really that obvious?"
"Are you kidding? Since you came here, all you two do is blatantly flirt. The sexual tension was record breaking!"
"Okay, Sookie, well I'm gonna go see Luke now."
"Yeah, go see your man."
"Oh, be quiet, Sookie," Lorelai told her playfully as she walked out the door of the kitchen. As she headed outside, a group of people walked towards her.
"I'm so sorry, Ms. Gilmore is it, but it seems that our client isn't able to stay as long as my wife and I had hoped, so we took an earlier flight in. I hope it hasn't caused any trouble…" The blond man said to her.
Lorelai sighed, then reluctantly smiled professionally. "No no, none at all. We are all ready for you three. Why don't you both come on inside while we wait for your client to get here," she finished, leading them into the Independence Inn.
"Lane can not come out now. I have agreed to let her go to the Prom with David Rygalski, however until that time she is not allowed out." Mrs. Kim informed Rory brusquely at her door.
"Of course, Mrs. Kim. I was just wondering if I could maybe come in and speak with her – inside of course. If that's okay."
"I suppose that is acceptable. You may stay 5 minutes only. Lane must study for finals."
"Thank you so much, Mrs. Kim. You won't regret it."
"Yes, well, I have customers to attend to. Lane is up in her bedroom."
Rory nodded and headed upstairs, trying not to look too excited.
When she knocked on the door, Lane spoke from inside her room. "Mama, I'm studying just like I should be. Everything's fine. And thank you."
"It's me, Lane," Rory stated loudly enough for her to hear through the door.
"Thank God, Rory, I've been wanting to talk to you. I'm so excited. Mama Kim is letting Dave take me to the Prom. I'm going to my Prom. With my boyfriend! Yay me!"
"I heard," Rory told her, smiling. "Have you picked out a dress yet?"
"Nope. I don't get to. That was one of my mom's conditions. I get to go with Dave but she gets to pick out my dress. Knowing Mama Kim it'll probably cover every inch of skin on my body."
"Maybe it won't be that bad. She could surprise you and pick out something you actually like."
"Rory, please. The last time my mother and I shared an opinion about something, I got so freaked out I was dumped before Henry and I even started dating."
"Still, you and your mom have both changed. Maybe this time will me different. Just the fact that she is letting you go has to count for something, right?"
"I guess. It's just—wait, you came here for a reason. What's your news?"
Rory beamed. "Jess told me he loves me! And I know you don't really like or trust him, Lane, but I know he meant it and I love him too and--"
"Whoa, Babble Queen. Stop talking for a minute and let me process. So, you and Jess are in love… who said it first, you or him?"
"I did. I've known I love him for a while now, but just then felt like the right time to vocalize it. I wasn't sure if Jess felt quite the same way I did, but when he told me he loved me I knew. Oh, and you will not believe what Dean did this morning…"
A few minutes later, as Rory finished her story, Lane said, "Wow. This so tops my news."
"Nuh-uh Lane! I am so happy for you! We get to go to Prom together, well that is if Jess will still take me…"
"Oh please girl, he loves you. He'll go."
"I think so too. Or at least I hope so," Rory finished.
"Go see your man. I should go talk to Mama Kim about my dress."
"Good Luck."
"Thanks, you too."
They said their good-byes and Rory headed outside, towards the diner.
Luke had walked with Jess back to the diner after Jimmy had said his piece. They didn't speak; Jess was contemplating the situation and Luke knew that he wasn't the one Jess needed to talk to about it. When they returned home, Jess went straight upstairs, presumably to read.
It was about 5 o'clock in the afternoon when Lorelai burst through the diner door. "I'm sorry, I would have been here hours ago but these people at the inn arrived early for a business meeting… they weren't supposed to get in until now, but they took an earlier flight and didn't call, and--"
"Don't worry, Lorelai, it's not a big deal. I didn't have anything big planned, just a casual lunch, so we could talk."
"Even if you didn't plan something big, I'm still sorry. I missed you, Luke. I wanted to spend time with you."
"It's fine," Luke told her, kissing Lorelai on the cheek.
"Do you want to talk now? I'm here, we can chat."
"Sure, but can we go upstairs, this really isn't something I want to talk about around all these people…"
"Okay—Wait, are Rory and Jess up there?"
"Uh, yeah Jess and Rory headed up there about 10 minutes ago after walking around town for a while."
"Then, I don't really want to go up there."
"Why not?"
"Well, I don't know about you, but seeing my daughter making out or possibly more with her very experienced boyfriend is not exactly on the top of my to do list."
"Right. Storage room will work then, I guess."
"Ooh, dirty!"
"Ah geez."
"Come on," Lorelai said, pulling Luke into the store room.
After Luke told Lorelai what had transpired with Jimmy earlier that day, Lorelai surprised Luke by pulling him towards her suddenly. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him fiercely, passionately. He responded with equal fervor, and they embraced for minutes.
When he finally pulled away, Luke asked, 'What was that for?"
"Well, it just didn't seem right to go into a storage room with a guy and not make out," Lorelai stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Luke looked back at her and smiled.
"So, that's what's going on. I just thought you should know."
"I'm glad you told me. What are you gonna do?" Rory asked and she walked with Jess.
They sat down on the bridge, and Jess responded, "I don't know. I've been thinking, and, I just… who am I kidding—I have no idea what I want. I mean, this is the man who left me the day I was born. Do I really want to spend the summer with him in California?"
"He's your dad. It might be good for you to go see him."
"You think?"
Rory bit her lip for a moment, unsure of what to say to Jess. She knew that if she told Jess to go, he would, and vice versa. I don't want to influence his decision…
"You should go," Rory tried to state with conviction.
Jess looked at her, realizing her hesitation. "Rory, I wont go if you want me to stay. I want me to stay. You can't seriously think I'd want to leave after certain recent…developments."
"Just because you love me doesn't mean you should sacrifice getting to know your dad better."
Jess grinned, "And just because you love me," he retorted, "doesn't mean you have to let me go. Be selfish for once, Rory. Tell me to stay."
"No. No. We'll go to prom, and then we'll graduate, and after that you're going to get on a plane with you dad to California, and you're going to spend an entire summer with your father until you can write his biography. Then, and only then, can you come back. And when you do…" she trailed off, making eye contact, until Jess saw the desire and longing she held for him in his eyes, making him shiver.
"Well, aren't we feeling bossy today."
"You said be selfish. I want you here for prom, and graduation, and then I'll probably be sick of you so I'll want to out of my hair for a while. Eventually though, I'm bound to want to back. So really, I will be getting everything I want. Well, almost everything."
"We could, you know, before I leave," Jess suggested, grinning.
"Nope. It's too cliché to do it on prom night, and after prom it will simply be too close to your departure for me to revel in our new intimacy, so I think it's just best to wait until you return. Just don't meet any pretty girls in Caliornia, okay?" Rory laughed.
"I think I can do that. Don't meet any European boys…"
"I think you're all the guy I could handle right now," she replied, laughing. Beginning again, she added, "Good, well now that we're agreed, why don't we go back to the diner for a bit, and then I need to go prom dress shopping."
"I'm not opposed."
"Kay, well then we better hurry, we have to reach our make out quota for the day."
"Ha ha very funny."
"Come on, let's just go," Rory finished, pulling Jess in for a sweet kiss as they walked back to Luke's.
"So," Lorelai began, "Prom. Huh."
"Yup, it seems to be what all the cool kids are doing," Jess replied sardonically, and Dave nodded.
They were seated in the living room on the couch as they waited for Rory and Lane to finish getting ready. Mrs. Kim had reluctantly allowed Lane to go over to Rory's house after Lorelai had promised that Lane wouldn't walk out of the house in anything other than the dress Mrs. Kim had chosen for her.
They had been there for 15 minutes already, and there was a definite tension in the room between Lorelai and Jess.
Suddenly, Dave's cell phone rang and he excused himself to answer it, relieved.
Very bluntly, Lorelai asked Jess from her place in the chair facing him, "Are you going to take my daughter's virginity tonight?"
"If I said yes, would you try to stop me?"
Lorelai, obviously not expecting this particular answer, looked down for a moment to think. "No. Rory's old enough to make her own decisions. And if she decides to sleep with you tonight then--"
"We're not. Going to have sex tonight, I mean. We already discussed it and decided it was too cliché for Prom night."
"Oh. Well, good."
"But eventually, it's going to happen. Most likely after this summer. You two'll be traipsing around Europe and I'll be visiting my dad…"
"Yeah, Rory told me," Lorelai interrupted.
"So it's just better if we wait till things settle down again. If we still want to then, that's probably when it'll happen."
"Thanks. For telling me. I like to know what's going on with Rory, even if it is a bit unsettling."
"Sure thing."
"She loves you."
"I know."
"Do you feel the same way?"
"Is that really your business?"
"I think it is."
Jess sighed, annoyed. "Yes, I love her. I told her I did and I meant it."
"I thought so. If you hurt her, Jess," Lorelai began, before being interrupted.
"Look, Lorelai, I've never felt this way about anyone before. So I don't exactly know how to act. I don't want to hurt her, but I don't know how to avoid it, so…"
"Well, you could start by telling her what really happened with your black eye that one time. She said that you told her you got hit in the eye with a football, but I know it's crap."
"Does she know that?"
"Of course she does, she isn't dense. She just knew you didn't want to talk about it, so she didn't press it. So tell her what really happened. She deserves to know. Besides, knowing you it's probably something stupid like getting beaked by the evil swan."
Jess blanched, looking down.
"Oh my God. That's it, isn't it? Wow, that came outta left field!"
"I, uh," Jess grasped for something to say, flustered.
"Oh calm down, that evil thing's been biting people for years. It's no big deal. But just to spare you, I'll go check on the girls."
Jess nodded absently, and Dave re-entered the room.
"So what happened, man. You look… not good."
"Thanks. I've talk had 'the talk' with my girlfriend's mom."
"Hey, you had it easy, think about the mom I'll have to eventually do that with."
Both guys cringed at the thought of Mrs. Kim.
"Jess, Dave! Prepare yourselves, the girls are ready!" Lorelai shouted from the kitchen dramatically.
"Finally," Jess muttered under his breath, and Dave shook his head in agreement.
Land and Rory stepped out of Rory's room at the same time, and Lorelai moved away, so they could been seen.
Jess and Dave were in tuxedos, looking very sharp and spy-like. Rory was wearing a strapless periwinkle gown that fit her perfectly. It billowed a bit at the bottom, and there was a ruffle that separated the bodice from the skirt. Lane's dress was dark blue and a bit more conservative, though she looked stunning in it.
Rory, Jess, Lane, and Dave all just stood there for a minute staring. Finally, Lorelai said, "Compliments, anyone?" which snapped everyone out of their trances.
Jess coughed just came up to Rory and kissed her softly, murmuring how great she looked. Dave coughed and blushed, telling Lane that she was beautiful.
"Okay, okay, everyone out. I've had enough of this. Go, have fun at the Prom. Rory," she continued, addressing her daughter, "Forget curfew. Have fun and I'll just see you when you get home. Go get in trouble or something!"
"I'll try, Mom. Thanks."
As they headed out the door, Lorelai said goodbye, and then headed to the phone. She dialed Luke's number, and waited to hear his voice on the other end. "Hey Luke," she said after hearing his greeting, "Do you wanna come over and hang out? The kids are at the Prom, so I've got the house to myself for a while…"
As soon as they were out of the house's line of sight, Jess brought Rory to him tightly. "I just wanted to make sure that you know just how much I love your dress," he said, holding her waist and kissing her. It seemed strange to her, to be making out in the middle of the street with Lane and Dave only feet away, but Rory threw her caution to the wind and kissed Jess back.
Jess kissed her on the mouth first, his tongue dancing with hers, and then he moved down to her neck, sucking gently behind her ear, over her jugular…
The two were locked together for minutes with no sign of stopping, until Lane tapped Rory on the shoulder. "Uh, guys, not to break up the make out fest but we're kind of late for Prom already, so we should get going."
"Right." Jess agreed, but then whispered into Rory's ear, "It's just too bad that I can't show you how amazing you look tonight."
Rory shivered.
"Come, let's just go, before this gets out of hand."
Back at attention, Jess put his arm around Rory's waist. Dave held Lane's hand, and the foursome walked through the doors and into the Prom.
The first thing Jess noticed was that the music was awful. Some shallow pop song was blasting throughout the room, and the four of them all hated it.
Lane approached Rory and told her, "Dave and I are going to go convince the deejay to play some actual music tonight… and then we're gonna go find somewhere quiet."
"Ooh, dirty. Bad girl tonight, huh Lane."
"Oh, this coming from the girl who was making out with her boyfriend in the middle of the street…"
"Okay, okay. You win. Go on with your bad self."
"Er, okay. Never say that again."
"I'm just kidding. Now go have fun."
"I will. See you later."
As Lane left, a slower song came on—"Bless the Broken Road" by the Rascal Flatts—and Rory threw her arms around Jess's neck, pulling him towards her as she moved towards the dance floor.
"Aww Rory, come on. This is country, it's pathetic…"
"I know, but I've heard it before and the lyrics are actually kind of sweet. Don't think about it. Just dance with me. Please?" Rory added, biting her lip innocently.
"Fine. Let's get this out of your system."
"Whatever you say…"
An hour later, Rory was finally tired of dancing. The last song had been a Clash song—apparently Lane and Dave had won the deejay over—and it wore her out as she and her friends danced.
Jess pulled her away from the crowd of people on the dance floor to one of the abandoned tables. They sat down and then Jess asked her if she wanted anything to drink. She said a short "yes" and he went to go get her something.
He had been gone for only a few seconds when Dean approached hesitantly. She was about to tell him off when he purposefully sat down next to her.
"Look, Dean, I--"
"I forgive you. I know that you didn't mean what you said earlier, so I forgive you."
"Dean, I--"
"You don't have to say anything, Rory. I completely understand. You still love me. I get it. What other reason would you have for saying all that the other day? Now, I get how you feel, but I'm with Lindsay."
"Dean!" Rory yelled, enraged. Jess heard her yell, and turned to see Dean sitting with his girlfriend. He headed towards them angrily, but Lane saw this and pulled him back.
"Calm down, Jess. I'll fill you in later, but Rory needs to get this out, and Dean needs to hear it. You'll understand in a second. Just trust me."
Still seething, Jess stepped back and let Rory go on, noticing she was so focused on Dean she hadn't even seen him or Lane.
"Listen, Dean. I already told you this, but you just don't seem to be getting it. I'm sorry about how we broke up, but I am over you. Totally and completely. I'm with Jess now, and it's going to stay that way. There is not even the slightest chance that I will ever get back together with you. I don't love you. I have for a long time. But I do love Jess. And there is nothing that you can say or do to change that."
Dean turned white. Reality came crashing down on him as Lindsay approached. "Dean? What's going on? Why did she say that stuff to you? Do you still… are you still in love with her?"
Dean didn't answer, but Lindsay understood. She closed her eyes for a moment and then turned and walked away. Dean didn't follow her. Instead, he muttered, "Bye Rory," and turned to walk out in the opposite direction.
"So, Rory, you wanna get out of here?"
"Where are we going?"
"I was thinking Luke's. I have a feeling he won't be there."
"Kay. Just let me tell Lane goodbye."
"Sure. I'll come with, say bye to Dave."
"You two are really getting along, aren't you?" she asked as they walked towards the couple dancing.
"Dave's cool."
"So that's a yes…" Rory questioned. Jess raised his eyebrows at her. "Right."
"Hey, guys," Dave greeted. "You leaving?"
"Yeah, we're gonna go back to Luke's and hang out. It's only 10:30, so if you want you swing by later, you can."
"Sorry, can't. Mama Kim said curfew's 11:00 tonight, so we'll probably leave soon." Lane replied.
"Okay. We'll see you guys tomorrow, then. Bye," Rory finished, hugging Lane.
"Bye, Dave."
"Yeah, see you, Jess."
As Jess led Rory outside, it started to rain. At first it only sprinkled, but when they were halfway to the diner it began pouring. Jess tried to hurry, pulling Rory along gently, but Rory stood her ground. When he noticed her lack of movement, he turned around.
"What are you doing?"
"I just want to be out here with you for a minute."
"Your dress is getting soaked."
"It's just a dress."
"But," Jess began.
"Jess, tonight has been perfect. I love you so much, and I'm so glad you took me to my prom."
"It was nothing."
"It was certainly something. You hate stuff like this, but you really are sweet and you made such an effort tonight. I just, I wanted to thank you." Finishing, Rory took his soaked face in her hands and kissed him—hard and sweet and rough (for all that Rory could be rough). There they stood, kissing in the rain.
"Well that was nice."
Rory giggled, and pulled him towards Luke's.
"I want cake." Rory stated.
"No cake."
"Kay, then I want pie."
"No pie either."
"How about doughnuts?"
Jess shook his head, smiling. "Fine. We'll have doughnuts."
"Upstairs."
"Okay, okay. We're feeling demanding tonight, aren't we."
"C'mon, let's go."
Once upstairs, Jess gave Rory some sweats to put on, and she did so in the bathroom while he changed. Then they got onto Jess's bed and ate doughnuts and talked. After about 45 minutes, Jess pulled out Ethan Frome (by Edith Wharton) and read to her.
Her voice put her to sleep after 20 minutes, so he put the book down and gathered her in his arms.
She murmured softly, "I love you," before drifting back into sleep. He kissed her on the top of her head, said, "I love you too, Rory," and fell asleep next to her.
Luke approached the Gilmore house anxiously. The way she spoke to him on the phone made him think that they would be doing more than talking tonight. But, then again he had thought that same thing when she had called him and asked him to help her find a chick that was running loose in the house.
Nevertheless, Luke went up the steps and knocked on the front door expecting just about anything. After a moment, Lorelai opened the door.
She smiled and took his hand, pulling him inside and shutting the door behind them.
"Come on," she invited, pulling him up the stairs.