Author's note: See? I always keep my promisses. You reviewed (all positive reviews, I'm sooo flattered), so I update. Thank to my most loyal critics (you know who you are) for your support.

So, because I'm in such a wonderful mood, and because you are so good to me, I created an extra, extra long chapter for you. Enjoy and keep the reviews coming!!!

Disclaimer: Own Kat. Nothing else.

Two days later…

"Abracadabra, turn this ordinary girl into the princess of Jess Mariano's dreams…"

Kat exclaimed with a serious hint of drama, while gingerly taking the dress out of Rory's hotel room closet.

"Drop it, Kat. I'm not freaking Cinderella and you don't even resemble something close to a fairy godmother."

"Oops. That reminds me! I forgot your pumpkin!"

"Again, drop it! Now help me get into this damn thing!"

"Moody, my friend?"

"Not moody, just nervous. Scared. Petrified."

"No need, relax, get dressed, I'll help you fix your hair. We still have over an hour to get you looking stunning."

Somehow that didn't help Rory much. She really needed the physical help. The zipper of her dress wouldn't move, her sandals were M.I.A., her hair decided to plot against her in hopeless knots and she felt like she had a huge fever. To say she was nervous was a little understatement. As much of an understatement as saying the previous was just merely a LITTLE understatement.

When Kat saw her biting her lips to prevent herself from screaming, she quickly zipped up the dress and dragged the other girl over to the vanity in the corner.

"Sit."

Limply, Rory did as she was commanded. Sitting was good. She could do that. Expertly and without showing mercy, Kat started to work on her hair and make-up. And she loved to slowly see Rory's expression change from horror to pleasantly surprised. With her hair all done up (a loose curly knot with a few strands of curls escaping) and her make-up applied, she knew she looked wonderful. For him. She would meet him in about twenty-five minutes. The butterflies in her stomach were starting to jig.

So when Kat at long last located her sandals underneath the bed, she was as ready to go as she would ever be.

Twenty-five minutes are fifteen-hundred seconds. So when each second seems to take a minute that's a lot of time to fidget and worry and ramble. Kat felt she had missed out on her true calling while trying to comfort and entertain the girl who hadn't moved from the vanity since she was dragged over there.

When a distinctive knock on the door announced the arrival of prince charming, Kat let go of some air. She steadied Rory, who resembled the ghost of Christmas past by now and stood up to get the door. She slipped through and blocked Jess's entrance. Damn, the guy looked hot in a tux! She smiled when she saw he was holding a single red rose.

"Nice touch."

"You wanted me to be nice. I thought this was nice."

"It is."

Jess moved a step closer to the door, trying to peer in. Kat blocked him again, knowing Rory needed to regain some composure.

"Kat?"

"She's shy, give her a few more minutes, okay?"

She left while closing the door behind her.

"I have to go. My own date will be wondering where I've been."

"Date?"

"The punch bowl. Has a nice personality once you get to know him, trust me."

"Don't drink it all, this time, would you Mendosa?"

"I promise. Now, just wait a few more minutes before you get in okay?"

"Whatever, but if she's having some kind of nervous breakdown in there, then I'm out of here in a flash, okay?"

"Sure." Kat made her grand escape before she would talk too much.

Inside the room, Rory took some deep breaths while checking her reflection for the zillionth time. She looked good. For Jess. Who was right outside that door. Hopefully. Not. Yes. Stop! Just turn around, face him and see what happens…

Jess seemed to believe he waited long enough. Politely he knocked on her door. Rory froze, then found her voice back.

"Come in, please."

Was that her voice? It had to be, there wasn't anyone else in the room. Rory regained control over her nerve system and turned to face the door, which was now slowly opening.

He was sure he was losing it. The voice, though a little quivering, sounded familiar. It sent jolts of electricity through his veins. But of course it couldn't be. He was just nervous. It would after all be his first date since moving here. The first time he would talk to and dance with a girl since he left…left Rory. Sighing, he decided it was time to get in that room and just see. He grinned. With his luck, she was probably downright hideous.

He had been prepared for that. The hideous part. He had been prepared to see a wallflower, a nervous wreck, even an exotic beauty, he had been prepared for anything. Anything except…Jess Mariano froze. He knew he wasn't dreaming, he knew he hadn't eaten or drunk anything that could make him hallucinate. It simply was her.

Rory heard him gasp in surprise and urged her unwilling eyes to look up to face him. When she did, it was her turn to gasp. Jess looked simply amazing. The Californian sun had tanned the Italian olive skin, his dark eyes were still brooding and despite his slightly hunched stance he somehow seemed…taller.

Neither of them spoke as the former friends and almost lovers eyed each other out. Rory felt naked underneath his steady gaze, while Jess tried to maintain some dignity. It was hard on him. Her eyes were even more bright than he had remembered them, though he had remembered every detail about her. Now he felt vulnerable and confused beyond his own grasp. How did she get here? What was happening? He knew, in the back of his mind he had worked out the plot between Rory and Kat. Slowly it sank in and started to make sense. Kat's hasty retreat to the east coast, her bringing back a friend, her relentless bantering about him taking this girl out. She had tricked him and now…

Should he make a run for it? Should he keep a poker face and tell her it was over? Did he want to? The answer to that was simple enough; in fact it was the only answer he was sure of. He didn't.

Didn't want to run, didn't want to see her go. He wanted her; had always wanted her. The only urge that he needed to control was the urge to take her in his arms and kiss her until they lacked air. The only question refraining him from doing exactly this was her reason for being here.

The question contained only one word, it came out more harshly than expected: "Why?"

Rory heard the question, she also heard the way he uttered it. His voice sounded strained, sad and tired. Like he had fought and just found out it was all in vain. He wanted to know why she had come. To haunt him. Rory's heart sank a little. It surely didn't sound like he wanted her there. Maybe Kat was horrendously mistaken. Maybe Jess didn't want to have anything to do with her. Maybe he was just waiting for her to leave.

Jess uttered the question again, but now the word sounded somehow differently. It was perhaps wishful thinking of her part, but she most definitely thought she heard…hope in his voice. She sighed, bracing herself for the impact if she was wrong.

"Why?"

"That's what I asked. Why? Why are you here?"

"I needed to…needed to see you. You simply…" By now her voice broke and she sank down on the bed. "You simply left me, Jess. It hurt, believe me. But I couldn't keep myself from wondering about you. What you were doing, if you were happy, if you…if you had already forgotten about me, about us, what we had. What it meant to you."

She heaved a much needed sigh and continued her rambling:

"There was only one way to find out and that was to see you again. But I didn't have a recent address and when Luke called Jimmy he was told you had left. Jimmy didn't have a recent address either. I had no way to get in touch with you. So when Kat showed up out of nowhere, I took my chances. I'm not sorry for that, if that's your second question, and I'm not leaving without an answer to my question. Which happens to be the same as yours. Why? Why did you leave me like that?"

Somehow, with tears streaming down her face, her eyes starry, Rory looked even more beautiful and it took him every ounce of self restraint not to scoop her up in his arms and love her like he was supposed to. Instead, he drew a heavy breath to prepare himself for his confession, the one he had always secretly hoped he would never have to give. But he had to. She deserved to know. Even if it hurt him to tell her.

"I'll tell you, but I'm not sure you'll understand. It's really complicated. Just promise me you won't interrupt. And if you want me to leave after I told you, I'll understand, okay?"

Rory just nodded. Her throat was too sore to produce any coherent sound. Jess gingerly sat down next to her. She didn't move and silently he was grateful for that. He scraped his throat and started talking.

"A few days before I left, I found out I wouldn't graduate. Which meant I couldn't take you to the prom, and that I betrayed Luke's trust in me. After all he'd done for me, after all you'd done for me, I couldn't even do the one decent thing that was asked from me. I couldn't even graduate, as I had promised. So I guessed Luke would throw me out, which was his prerogative I suppose and I guessed you would be so disappointed in me."

She was about to say something, but shut her mouth when Jess put a finger against her lips. She surpressed the chills his simple gesture sent through her body.

"I know you well enough to know that you would never tell me, you would always help me and support me, even when I don't deserve it. But Rory, you can't hide your thoughts and feelings for me, you never could. And to look into your eyes and see your disappointment, I…I took the coward's way out. I just didn't know how to face you. Maybe me and Jimmy are more alike than I thought, because running surely seemed the safest option. I'm sorry if I hurt you, believe me I am, but I really think I would have hurt you more in the end if I stuck around."

Rory had heard it all, but just couldn't grasp it, couldn't believe what he had just said. Was that it? The entire story, still based on the you're-too-good-for-me theory, the one she thought had been dead and buried next to the mommy-knows-best theory of Lorelai? How thick was this boy anyway? She would have gladly laughed out loud if it hadn't been this sad.

He was wrong. About everything. Yes, she would have been mad and disappointed in him, but that's because she knew how well he could do if only he tried. And, by the looks if it, he did. But why did he have to make his great escape to the west coast before being able to get himself to do the work? And who was he working for anyway?

Before she could ask him, somehow she knew the answer. Even though he was miles away, he was making amends. With her, with Luke, but most of all, with himself. If she'd been there, he wouldn't have gotten this far. She wasn't insulted by that sudden realization. She was merely proud. He'd grown up. He was worthy of anything and anyone he wanted. He was worthy of her. If he still wanted her. Did he?

Jess interpreted her silence the wrong way and stood up to leave.

"I think I'd better go. Since…there's nothing left to say."

It took him all the courage he had left to walk over to the door. When he grabbed the doorknob he made a mistake; he turned to face the tearstained girl on the bed. And he saw, really saw. It killed him.

Here she was. His angel, all dressed up like Cinderella, so beautiful it almost hurt to see. She'd come all this way, all these many miles to see him. And not just to ask why. She'd forgiven him. She wanted him, wanted him to need her. Which he did. More now than ever. He had worked his ass of for it. To deserve her. To become an equal. Even though it was the first time he ever admitted it to himself.

What happened next took only seconds in real time, it took many minutes in their universe. His hand let go of the doorknob, his body turned, his legs moved. He extended his hand to her. Slowly, she lifted her own hand to gently put it in his. He shivered underneath her familiar touch, not realizing exactly how much he had missed it until now. She stood up to face him, a slow smile of comprehension gracing her beautiful features.

It was her turn to shiver when his thumb grazed her cheek and then slowly traced her lips. A moan escaped her throat, the first noise coming out of her since her rambling. Jess smirked, a first for him too in what seemed like months. His hand moved to the back of her neck and ever so gently he pulled her closer.

When finally their lips met, it was almost too overwhelming. Her knees buckled; she had to sit down. Willingly, Jess let her drag him to the bed. He too was drowning in his emotions.

After some heavy kissing that lasted minutes at the time, they reluctantly let go. Jess was a bit unsure of what to do next, but when Rory put her head against his shoulder, he felt relief wash over him. She didn't run, didn't stammer or rant, didn't say this was a mistake. She seemed calm, collected and according to the blush on her face, happy. As he was.

At that moment, Rory lifted her head and kissed him gently on his cheek. Her question was simple and difficult at the same time.

"What now?"

Jess grinned. "Dance?"

"I meant after the dance, after tonight, after…"

"I know what you mean, Rory. And I'm not quite sure. Only an hour ago I was cursing Kat for setting me up like this and now…I'm not sure of anything except that I'm not about to let go of you again. I really missed you, I never expected to see you again."

"Neither did I, but I'm not sorry I came over here."

"You shouldn't be." Jess kissed her swollen lips lightly.

The silence that followed was kind of comforting and both of them came to the realization that they didn't have to decide anything just now. For now, being together was enough. Jess reached for Rory's hand and stood up from the bed.

"Let's go to this dance, shall we?"

"You still wanna go?"

"I do now, I have to show you off, don't I?"

"Lead the way."

Long, long chapter. I'm proud of myself? Are you? Let me know...