She stared at him, finding herself at a loss of words. He stood there, only a few meters away from her, and this time, he couldn't get away. Or at least, it wouldn't be useful – she knew where he lived.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, that to them felt like eternity. When eternity ended, he broke eye contact as he turned to fetch her coffee. The silence between them got too loud, and it just made her more upset.

And then the sound of his voice broke it.

"I wouldn't say that loud, if I were you." He commented as he stood with his back to her, referring to her comment from before.

"I wouldn't take it seriously, if I were you," She faked a grin.

He turned to her with a pot of coffee in his hand, trying very hard to hide any hint of the emotions that stirred in him. He poured coffee into a cup and pushed it to Rory's direction. "Thanks for choosing Luke's." He said blankly, and stepped around the counter to serve a costumer that just sat himself down.

She took a sip of her coffee and almost spat it out. "The coffee's cold." She said says, impatiently waiting for a reply. When she doesn't get one, she turns around. "Did you hear me, Jess? The coffee's cold." And yet, she still saw him over at that table, not even noticing her, writing down the guy's order. "Jess!" She shouted sternly, and he finally raised his head to look at her. She saw him saying something to the guy, just before he stepped over to her.

"What?" He asked.

"My Icoffee/I is Icold/I." She spoke slowly, emphasizing each word.

He sighed and stepped behind the counter. She watched him as he made a fresh coffee pot, but she couldn't wait much longer. She hated being there. She hated the atmosphere. "Can't you go faster?"

He sighed and turned around without even looking at her. He reached into the display, grabbed a donut and placed in on a plate in front of her.

Rory stared down at it. "What's that?"

"A donut."

"I didn't order a donut."

"It's a complementary donut." He tried to get her to be quiet.

She squinted, "I don't want your free donuts!"

"Just eat the damn donut."

"I don't want to eat the damn donut! I want what I asked for!"

Jess sighed and leaned forward. "Why are you trying to pick a fight with me?" He asked, quietly, finally letting some real emotion show as it was no longer possible to keep everything inside.

"I'm not picking a fight with you," She defended herself.

"Whatever," He muttered.

"And I really don't appreciate your stupid accusations!" She called after him as he took the fresh pot of coffee and walked behind the counter in it, and farther into the diner. "Where are you taking the coffee?"

She hopped off the stool and started following Jess around the diner. "Hey, I asked for it first!" She stated, standing behind Jess as he poured coffee into a costumer's cup.

He turned around to her, clenching the fist of his free hand to not let his irritation come out. "What are you doing?"

"I'm unsatisfied with the service. I want Luke."

"What?" He frowned.

"Luke?" She called.

"Rory, stop."

"Luke!" She called louder.

"He's not here!" He told her, trying very hard to still remain calm.

"Where is he?" Rory asked, her voice full of doubt.

"I don't know," Jess shrugged, "He went over to Lorelai's house earlier and hasn't come back since."

And it came back to her. The fight her mom told her about. The reason of the fight her mom told her about. The reason of the fight Ishe/I had with her mother.

And then it occurred to her that maybe she too was just looking for someone to blame.

"Rory?" He asked.

"Uh, I…" She shook her head, "Sorry, I… I have to go." She took a dollar bill out of her pocket and placed it on the nearest table, before she went out of the diner, as he watched her with confusion.

-

She entered her house, although it wasn't really her house anymore. Especially that moment, it didn't feel like home. If felt cold.

But she entered it. Her mood kept getting worse and worse as she walked down the hall, into her old room. She collapsed on the bad and frowned. She was no better than her mom. She was just like all of them.

Maybe she really couldn't handle being around Jess. Maybe some of the things her mom said got to her so fiercely that she actually started acting by it, starting with leaving her common sense by Luke's doorstep before she came in. All she knew was, that there was too much that needed fixing, and that she couldn't do it. Not alone.