A/N: Hello lovely readers and welcome to chapter 10! We cover a lot of ground in this chapter, some of it familiar, but of course the events occur a little different in this universe. I have to be done editing it now, though, because it just keeps getting longer. I need to stop somewhere. Have a fantastic day, and I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 10
The rest of December passed swiftly, carrying the holiday season along with it. Rory spent Christmas morning with her mom and Luke at home, welcoming a relaxed day of eating snacks and spending time with her family. Rory and Lorelai ate copious amounts of junk food and candy, all while being reprimanded by Luke, who insisted on cooking a moderately healthy breakfast for the three of them. The fruit was left untouched by all but himself. Christmas dinner, on the other hand, was a grand affair. Hosted at the Dragonfly, the party was composed of the Gilmore-Danes-Mariano-Nardini family in addition to Sookie, Jackson, their kids, and Lane. Jess spent most of his time with Rory and Lane, giving Liz a total of fifteen minutes of his time before becoming overwhelmed and slipping away, doing his best to evade her the rest of the night. Luke did his best to make April and Anna feel welcome, and Lorelai worked overtime trying to get to know the two, only making it awkward a couple of brief times. Sookie and Luke manned the food while Jackson watched the kids and talked far too much about the winter harvest to anyone who would listen. The only one who would listen happened to be T.J., who came with his own discussion on his apparently booming carpentry career. The inn's dining room boomed with loud voices and boisterous personalities, laughter and conversation. It was a perfect Christmas.
Rory rang in the New Year with Lane and Lorelai at the annual party in the middle of the town square, drinking champagne and setting off confetti poppers. The three women sat together in front of the big bonfire making New Year's resolutions. As the night went on and after they switched from champagne to Miss Patty's punch, slipping further into their drunken world, their resolutions became sillier. At one point, Lorelai made a resolution to listen to Luke and try to drink less coffee. As one could imagine, that lasted less than 12 hours. Lane made a drunken resolution to add the bongos to her repertoire, simply because they were drums, too, and most people underappreciated them. She had laughed at herself the next day, but she stopped finding it funny when she found out she had drunk-ordered bongos from a catalog she'd received the previous week. Rory texted Jess a just-for-them resolution that made her blush upon reading it when sober the next day, half because it was riddled with misspellings and half because of the sheer dirtiness of its content. But, she was pleased when Jess had responded with a similar resolution, albeit spelled correctly.
Jess and Rory had talked at great length about their relationship. They spent many late nights that seeped into mornings talking in hushed tones about their history. They told each other secrets they had kept as teenagers, forgave each other for past hurts, and ultimately settled on looking forward to their future together. This time, they were adults. They were committed to working at their relationship. They were serious about each other and about making a relationship succeed, even at long distance. Their relationship practically picked up right where they left off. It was one of the benefits of being friends before lovers. The giddy excitement of the honeymoon phase that was a part of every new relationship was accompanied by a cozy familiarity, which just made every interaction all the more enchanting.
Rory moved into Paris and Doyle's apartment a week before classes started, much to Lorelai's chagrin. Upon seeing the stained walls, sketchy neighbors, and the myriad of locks on the door, she started objecting to Rory's living scenario and had yet to stop. But Rory moved in all the same, full of nervous excitement to begin the next phase of her life. She only regretted her decision a little, and only because she found out Paris and Doyle were learning Krav Maga by almost ending up a victim of their impromptu practice. But as long as she avoided their training sessions, everything would be fine.
School challenged Rory even more so than it had in her previous years. She was cramming a lot of education into not a lot of time. As she fell into a routine, however, it all started to feel a little smoother. The challenge lit a fire underneath her and she determined to prove to no one in particular that she was capable. In addition to classes, she started back at the Yale Daily News. The paper, under Paris's command, was almost as scary as her new living accommodations. As editor in chief, Paris ruled the newsroom with an iron fist. It wasn't long before Rory heard her fellow reporters complaining outside of work hours. She was sure almost nothing good would come of Paris's time as editor in chief.
As Rory navigated her busy schedule, new long-distance relationship, and job, while simultaneously fulfilling her duties as her mother's maid of honor, she barely ever looked where she was going. This habit of being unaware of her surroundings would come back to bite her.
A few weeks into her new semester, Rory was making her regular afternoon trip to the coffee cart after her economics class. That afternoon, she had a mandatory meeting with the school psychologist, a requirement of all students that return after an unexplained absence. With her nose in a textbook, she walked up to the coffee cart and got in line. She didn't notice that someone had walked up next to her until they spoke.
"Hi, Ace."
Rory's stomach dropped at the sound of his voice and she felt frustration building at his unwelcome presence. She did not have the time or the patience to deal with his antics. Rory's eyes darted up from her book to meet Logan's. "Logan, what are you doing?"
"Can we please talk?"
"Um, no. We can't. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get my coffee because I have somewhere to be."
"Rory, please, hear me out."
"No, you know why? Because it isn't going to change anything. It's been three months, Logan." Rory's annoyance was growing with each word Logan spoke.
"Please, you haven't even tried to give me a chance!"
Her fury was building. "Seriously? Logan, I gave you every chance while we were dating! You screwed up one too many times, deal with it." She looked back down at her book, wishing for him to vanish.
"Rory, come on," Logan gently grasped Rory's elbow. "I love you."
That had done it. With the stress coming from every aspect of Rory's life, those three words were what set her over the edge.
She yanked her elbow out of his grasp and looked at him, her eyes blazing with anger. "What?! What do you mean, you love me?" she yelled. She didn't even care that she was drawing the attention of everyone in the courtyard. "I highly doubt you do, Logan. Because if you did, you would respect me and my choices, you would fight for what's best for me, and you would at least try to see my side of things! And I'm not just talking about the breakup, I'm talking about every time you hurt me or misguided me or used me while we were dating. Logan, you are a manipulative, pretentious, selfish, inconsiderate pain in my ass! Now, for the last time, leave me the hell alone!" she finished in a scream. She marched away, leaving Logan in her dust looking shocked and hurt. He glanced around at the crowd that had gathered before walking away, his head hung low, silently cursing himself for throwing away a good thing. Rory, on the other hand, was unfortunately coffee-less and full of rage, just in time to see a therapist.
"Guess who's crazy?"
"Ooh, who?" Lorelai was settled in and ready for some gossip.
"Me!" Rory exclaimed, perhaps a bit too joyfully.
"What? Why?"
"Well, I had that mandatory meeting the school counselor today, y'know, explain the whole 'I left Yale because I got arrested for stealing a yacht with my ex-boyfriend after his father dashed my hopes dreams but now I'm happy and good and glad to be back' thing."
"Sure."
"Well, right before I had my appointment, I was in line to get coffee, and guess what spoiled, arrogant, ex-boyfriend of mine shows up next to me, begging me to hear him out and telling me he loved me?"
Lorelai gasped. "No!"
"Yep, Mr. Logan-freakin'-Huntzberger himself!"
"What a jerk! How many times have you told him to leave you alone now?"
"Honestly, mom, I've lost count."
"And he told you he loved you?"
"Those were his exact words, yes!"
"What did you say?"
"Long story short, I told him if he really did love me he'd respect me but all he did was manipulate me. Then I told him to leave me the hell alone."
"Look at you, my own little Kat Stratford!"
"Mom, how many times do I have to tell you that 10 Things I Hate About You was based on Taming of the Shrew?"
"Calm down, literacy lady. So, wait, why are you crazy?"
"Well, my little encounter with Logan set me up to go into my appointment sans coffee but fully stocked on anger and resentment."
"Uh oh."
"Yep. There were tears. There was yelling. He wants me to see him weekly for the next two months."
"Aw, kid, I'm so sorry."
"Oh well, maybe therapy will be good for me. It can't help to have someone to talk to about all my problems."
Lorelai gasped. "What about me? The woman who birthed you, raised you, and last I heard, held the title of your best friend in the whole world?"
"Besides you, of course," Rory said quickly.
"Sure, uh huh, okay," Lorelai said disbelievingly. "So..." she said, her voice turning serious, "I hate to bring this up and stress you out further, but…"
"Have I told Jess about any of this yet? No. But we have a phone date scheduled for tonight, so I can talk to him then."
"Gah, as your mother, do I want to hear about this phone date?"
Rory snorted. "What happened to being my best friend?"
"My titles change rapidly, keep up."
"Don't worry, it'll just be us catching up on our weeks and probably saying mushy things to each other. Although, we'll have to see how he reacts when I tell him about today."
"Oh, I'm sure he'll be fine!" Lorelai said in a sickly-sweet voice.
"Thanks for lying, mom, it's very convincing."
"Anytime, babe."
After hanging up, Rory did her best to focus on homework for the next few hours until it was time for her call with Jess. She was only moderately successful at accomplishing anything, being far too distracted to actually get anything done. Their call was scheduled for that evening and as the time approached, Rory went into her room and settled in, mentally preparing herself for the various directions this conversation could go. She knew Jess trusted her but also that his hate for Logan was great. She was brought back to the present when her phone started ringing, and a small smile spread across her face as she answered, putting her thoughts aside and simply looking forward to hearing Jess's voice.
"Hi!" she answered brightly.
"You sound chipper." His voice and the smile it carried with it still brought butterflies to her stomach,
"Yeah, well, it's my favorite time of the day."
"Dinner time?"
"No, but that's a close second."
"Huh. Well, what else could it be?" he asked as though oblivious to the real answer.
"You're really going to make me say it?"
"Say what, Rory?" he asked, feigning innocence.
"Well, Jess, it's my favorite time of the day because I get to talk to my ever-so-annoying boyfriend," she responded with an eyeroll.
"Ouch, hitting me where it hurts!"
She chuckled and shook her head. "So, what have you been up to today?"
"Not much. It's been pretty quiet here, actually. The guys and I have almost made it through the pile of stuff that authors send in without permission."
"Wow, that is quiet. Is it bad that business is that slow?"
"Nah, lulls like these happen from time to time. Things will pick back up soon. Actually, that's something I wanted to talk to you about."
"Oh yeah? What's up?"
"We're having a sort of open house thing in a few weeks. Nothing fancy, just a little thing to draw in clientele. There'll be cheap beer and bad poetry readings, just the kind of thing you would love to mock relentlessly. Plus, you'll get to meet Matthew and Chris. What do you say, would you wanna come?"
"Jess, of course! I'll be there."
"I haven't even told you when it is, you sure you don't need to check your schedule first? I know you're busy with school and the paper and everything."
"Doesn't matter, I'll be there." She was smiling widely at the idea of getting to see Author Jess in action.
"Alright, cool."
"Cool, indeed."
"And, I was thinking…"
"Yeah?"
"Well, it's a long drive. And after the open house, it'll be late."
"Jess, please don't make me guess what you're trying to say. It's not as fun for me as it is for you."
He snickered before continuing. "You know I live in the apartment above Truncheon."
"Yeah, you never really moved away from the idea of living above your place of business after leaving Luke's, did you?" she teased.
"Hey, don't mock! The commute is great."
"Fine, continue."
"Well, I was wondering if you would want to stay with me after the open house. Overnight."
"Oh!"
"Do you think it's too soon? Or are you not ready? Because if not, that's totally fine, Rory. No rush. You can even stay over and take the bed, I'll sleep on the couch."
"No, Jess… I like the idea." The thought of spending the night at Jess's place made her look forward to seeing him even more.
"But…?"
"But nothing. Let's do it." Rory blushed. "That was not supposed to be an innuendo." She could hear Jess laughing loudly on the other side of the line. "Compose yourself, Mariano!" She couldn't help but laugh as well.
"Sorry, that was just too good to ignore."
"I'm never going to live that down, am I?"
"Never."
"Great…"
"I'm glad, though. That you want to stay over."
"Me too. To be honest, I'm looking forward to the open house even more now. Plus, we've said before. Our relationship isn't exactly brand new. We kind of picked up where we left off a few years ago."
"True enough. No torture of getting to know each other and meeting each other's families."
"Indeed, let's us move onto much more exciting things."
"Oh yeah?"
"Oh, yes, definitely."
There was a beat of silence as they both felt the familiar pang of loneliness. Despite talking to each other as much as possible, it would never equate to seeing each other in person.
"Rory?"
"Yeah?"
"I really wish I could kiss you right now."
"Trust me, you are so not alone in that. This long-distance thing sucks."
"It really does."
"And it doesn't help that I've been so busy with school that we haven't even been able to see each other on the weekends. I hate that school is keeping me from you."
"Hey, don't do that. Don't blame yourself or school or anything like that. It's not like I haven't been busy, too. We talked about this, we knew this was going to be hard. But it's worth it, right?"
"Right."
"So, we work through the hard moments. They'll just make the times when we get to see each other even better."
"True. Hey, when did you get so wise? And so good at keeping me from freaking out?"
"Eh, around the time I realized how desperately I needed you back in my life and figured out what I had to do to accomplish that."
Rory's heart fluttered. "Wow, Jess. With wisdom comes an ability to render me speechless."
Jess laughed. "We have our sleepover to look forward to. Keep that in mind, I will make long distance up to you."
"I'll hold you to that," she said with a smile.
"So, I've told you about my life and talked you down from a panic. How was your day?"
Rory's happy, flirty feelings vanished. "It was, uh, interesting, to say the least."
"Uh oh. Something tells me it wasn't a good interesting."
Rory carefully recounted the events of the day, listening carefully for Jess's reaction. When she finished her story, there was a brief moment of stressful silence.
"Jess?"
"I've said this before, but Logan's a dick."
"Yep."
Jess was stunned into silence.
"Jess? You there?"
"Did I hear you wrong, or did you just agree with me calling Logan a dick?"
"Don't doubt a woman scorned."
"Never again, I don't want to end up the subject of your scorn. Um, you do know that's not the full quote-"
Rory interrupted him before he could finish his question "I'm angry and paraphrasing. Watch it, you're quickly coming up on territory of being the subject of my scorn."
"Understood, backing down."
"So… how are you? After hearing about all that. You sure you still want me to come to that open house?"
"I mean, I'm pissed at Logan. But Rory, I'm so not angry at you. If it happened like you said it did, I'm just upset I didn't get to see you cuss him out."
Rory rolled her eyes. "I mean, I didn't exactly cuss him out."
"As per Rory Gilmore standards, you cussed him out. I've almost never heard you swear. I feel like I'm missing out, honestly."
"Well, keep me from my coffee and you'll get a sneak peek."
"Will I finally get to see your withering stare?"
"Maybe, no promises."
"Hm… I'll take it."
"So… we're okay?"
"Yes, Rory. Better than okay."
"Good, that makes me feel better." Rory breathed a sigh of relief as her nerves eased away, a calm smile making its way back to her face.
"Rory?"
"Yeah, Jess?"
"I…" Jess hesitated. No, now was not the time. He had royally screwed up the last time he said those three little words, and he wanted – no, needed – to make sure he did it right this time. After the day Rory had had, Jess's declaration needed to wait.
"Jess?"
"I just really miss you."
Rory smiled a soft, sad smile. "I miss you, too."
"See you in a few weeks?"
"See you then, Dodger."