A/N: Hey guys! Here's another chapter for you. Yes, not too many people have seen this story yet, but I'm hoping to get a few chapters out so people notice it and hopefully take interest. Thank you for ther reviews, and I hope you enjoy!

Trust Me

Chapter 2

"Um, Jess," She stated quietly, tugging at his sleeve for attention. "Would you mind having some company on your flight?"

"What, are you assigning me a bodyguard?" Jess stated incredulously.

"Jess, you never see the point in anything," Rory sighed. "Would you mind if I came along?"

"Why would you want to come with me to California?" Jess asked. "There is nothing for you there."

"You're going to be there, Jess! What more of a reason would I need to go?" Rory rolled her eyes. "It's not like I'm some huge Paris Hilton fan who would die to get an autograph or something."

"And the sarcasm lives on," Jess muttered.

"Don't be a smart aleck," Rory spat. "I want to go with you, is that so hard to understand?"

"That's not the part that I don't understand," Jess replied. "Why would you throw away your high society education to live in California with me?"

Rory looked down at her feet, shrugging. "I'm not really sure why. It just feels right."

"Doesn't going to Yale feel right?"

"Of course it does!" Rory cried. "There's just a nagging feeling at the bottom of my gut telling me to leave with you. My stubborn brain is telling me otherwise, though I get the feeling my gut is winning it over."

"Some argument you got there," Jess mumbled sarcastically. "What would your mom say about this?"

Rory shrugged off the comment, not sure of what to say. Honestly, she had no idea what her mom would say. This was one event in her life she would have to let take course.

"Don't just shrug, Rory. This isn't like moving across town, it's across the country!" Jess spat.

"You say that like I don't know my geography. I'll have you know, geography was one of the topics on the acceptance test for Chilton."

"Chilton is not the problem here, Rory!" Jess cried in frustration. "You can't just throw away your dream of going to Yale just so you can move to California with me! I really am not worth throwing your dream away for."

"You say that like I don't care about you," Rory whispered quietly.

"Right now, our relationship isn't the problem," Jess sighed. "You can't just move across the country because you feel like being with me!"

"Why are you so against me going? It's as if you don't want me there."

"I don't want you to make a mistake you'll regret later." He stated through gritted teeth.

"What's there to regret?"

"If you move, with me, it will be a long time until you can come back. You won't want to go to college when you're nearing your 30's" He remarked.

"Sure I will. There a lot of people who go to college at that age."

"Mostly people who were pregnant at the age of sixteen," He mumbled.

"Don't make generalizations about things you don't know about," Rory replied crossly.

"Then stop being naïve!" He snapped. "You're acting as if it's nothing to move across the country."

"Obviously it is. The country is very large if you ask me."

"Be serious about this, Rory. What about your mom? How do you think she's going to react to you moving across the country? And what about your psychopath grandparents? Rory, you need to consider these things before you just decided to leave. You may be eighteen, but that doesn't mean you can just leave!"

"Who do you think you are, telling me what's right and what's not? I am perfectly capable of handling my family, especially my mother. If you can just move out, then I also have every right to move out! We are the same age, going through the same process of dealing with school. Don't act like you have power over me, when you know you don't!" Rory cried.

"Rory, I'm your boyfriend. I'm supposed to worry about you," He answered softly, hanging his head.

Rory's eyes widened, clearly showing her shock. That was the first time she had heard Jess admit any feelings he had towards her. She had never heard words like that come out of his mouth. Now she realized he was arguing because he cared. He was arguing because he was looking out for her well being. This was all so she was better off in the long run, but in reality, the picture in her brain was showing her and Jess in California.

They sat in silence for the next few minutes, Rory deeply immersed in her thoughts. She really had no idea why she was doing this; it just felt like the right thing to do. She felt she had to be with Jess, and if going to California was the way to do it, then so be it. Whenever she was with Jess, she felt like she could do anything. The reason behind going to California was simple. She wanted to be with Jess. She couldn't stand being an entire country away from him, all the while being in a relationship. She just didn't know how she was going to tell her mother. Her mother was her rock, the person that kept her grounded. Now that Jess came, she felt she needed both of them in her life. Her mother always came first, but Jess was slowly climbing his way on the priority list. How she would break this to her mother was a mystery to her, even after telling Jess she wanted to go with him.

She turned to look out the window and saw that they were nearing the city. She looked over at Jess and saw he was reading a worn out book, the binding slowly coming apart. She decided to find out the title; it might appeal to her in the future. She now didn't have her Stars Hallow bookstore to rely on for old classics.

"Hey," Rory whispered, turning to face him. Jess looked up at her curiously. "What are you reading?" She asked.

"Just an old classic," He replied.

"You should be a book critic," Rory answered sarcastically. "I like to know what you're reading. Come on, tell me."

"I don't think the bus driver wants to clean up vomit," Jess remarked. "But since you're so keen on knowing, I'm reading The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway."

Rory's face contorted and she placed her finger halfway into her mouth. "Please don't torture me with endless details. You making me read that was not a good idea. Let me tell you, I usually like what I read. This book is at the bottom of my suggestion list."

"Well that is just insulting. How could you insult the master?"

"This guy is no master. Brilliant writer, yes. But page after page, the sentences just get shorter and shorter."

"This man won a Nobel Prize for Literature," Jess argued. "How much more of a master do you need to be?"

"What are you, his stalker?"

"I'm an informed reader," He muttered, his attention wavering back to his book.

"Guess Hemingway is more important," Rory mumbled, folding her arms across her chest.

"Not more important than you."

"Well aren't you just a book of compliments today? Miss Patty would be proud."

"Proud of the fact that I care?" Jess inquired.

"You would remind her of one of her husbands," Rory stated simply, reaching over and pinching his cheek.

Jess slapped her hand away. "That's not necessary."

Rory just shrugged and turned to the window, once again diving into her thoughts. She was just about to doze off into a short nap when the bus came to a jerking stop. She leaned up, looking towards the front of the bus. Sure enough, there was the bus driver signaling everyone to get off, the airport being the last stop for this bus route. She looked over at Jess, who was still sitting, not bothering to pay attention to the demands of the plump bus driver.

She reached over, tugging at his arm for attention. "Jess, we're at the airport." This was it, the moment of truth. This was when she had to make the real decision of leaving. Staying on the bus and skipping school was one thing, but actually buying a plane ticket and getting on the plane was another. She looked over at Jess, who was slipping his worn-out book into his back pocket. She stood up alongside him, grabbing her school bag and following him off.

They both stood on the pavement, silence overtaking them. Jess rocked back and forth on his feet awkwardly, not sure of what to say next. Rory just fiddled with the strap of her backpack, humming a random tune.

Jess sighed and looked up at Rory. "I think we should head in, the plane is boarding in an hour."

"Yea," Rory whispered, following him in through the terminal doors. She took a look around the bustling terminal, people speed walking to catch their flight, some just walking aimlessly, probably just waiting to board their flight. Rory sped her pace up to keep up with Jess, who was flying down the hallway towards check in. Rory's eyes then widened, realizing an important detail.

"Jess," Rory called, walking to his side. "How am I supposed to buy a plane ticket?"

Jess shrugged, shifting his bag to his other shoulder. "We'll wing it."

"You know I can't wing any situation. I have to have a plan or I stutter and then they'll think I'm lying and it won't work out." Rory rambled.

Jess just smirked. "I'm pretty sure you have emergency money."

Rory nodded. "Of course I do. But we could hardly call moving to California an emergency."

"Of course it is. Unless you want to walk, of course. There's always hitchhiking, too."

"Jess, I can't just take money from my savings account!" Rory cried. "That's for college. I'm pretty sure college is more important than flying across the country."

"From the looks of it, not anymore," Jess replied. "Graduation is in a week, Rory. You think you're going to Yale without your diploma, right?"

"Y-Yea, that's an important part," Rory stammered. "B-But that doesn't mean I can't go back for my diploma."

"You might want to finish your last week of finals before you do," Jess answered cooly. Jess turned to Rory. He reached for her hand, giving it a light squeeze. "I'm not keeping you here. This decision, you coming with me to California, is yours to make. You don't have to come with me."

Rory fidgeted with her sleeve, looking down at the floor. She wasn't sure of what to say. She truly wanted to leave and go with Jess. But Yale, everything she had worked for at Chilton. Jess was right, she wouldn't be able to go back and just get her diploma. She wouldn't be able to just go to Yale without the diploma. If she left now, it would be a permanent deal. Cool air hit her hand, and she realized Jess let go. She peered up at him, and saw he was signing something. This was it, Jess was leaving. He had just sealed the deal with his personal John Hancock. Jess was eighteen, he was eligible to leave home if he desired to. Rory was also eighteen, but she hadn't nearly experience enough things alone to be at the place where Jess is. Rory had never even been 40 miles away from home. How was she going to leave?

Rory tapped Jess's shoulder, causing him to stop and turn around. "You honestly think I'll be able to leave without a passport, right?"

Jess sighed. "That might be an important part of security."

"You've already sealed the deal," Rory stated, gesturing towards the boarding pass.

"Indeed I have."

Rory turned her head, afraid she might cry. Jess was going to leave. Even after fighting with herself, trying to find a solution, she had overlooked the fact that she had nothing with her. She wouldn't be able to go with him. "So you're going to leave, right?"

"Would be shame to waste $300."

That was when Rory broke down. She couldn't hold it in longer than she had been. She had been in denial about it all, hoping to be able to go. She walked over to Jess, encircling her arms around his waist. She cried, not wanting him to go.

There stood a girl, mourning over a boy.

Both clueless lovers.

One wiling to sacrifice, the other willing to let go.