WARNING! THIS CHAPTER HAS NOT BEEN EDITED FOR GRAMMATICAL ERRORS OF ANY KIND. AND... it's really short.
The Rebel's Princess
Chapter 2: Some People Never Go Crazy...
July 2, 2006
He was tall. Or... he looked tall from her seat. His spiky black hair seemed to amplify his height. She knew he had to be taller than she was, but he didn't have the imposing figure that Dean had. And there was an urban look about him — the way he walked, his slight accent as he asked what they wanted to eat. His hazel-eyed gaze was intense as he looked upon the table. He smelled like cigarettes and coffee and some kind of cologne and oddly enough... like books.
"Rory?" Dean was trying to get her attention and she snapped her head to look back at him.
"What?" she asked.
Blushing, Rory realized she'd been staring at Stars Hollow's newest arrival. From the corner of her eye, she noticed him smirk at her. It was a crooked smirk and she knew it had to be one-of-a-kind. She'd never seen anyone smirk that way before. But when she realized that he was amused by her reaction to him, she held back a glare and ordered her meal wishing him away as quick as possible.
"Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead," he mumbled, walking away.
And now he was quoting Charles Bukowski. There was something very wrong with that.
"Well, we should get going," Lorelai said, choosing to ignore Rory's momentary lapse of judgment.
She'd tried time and again to tell Luke not to give into Liz's pleas, and yet here was Jess. The entire town was going crazy, talking about the cigarette-smoking hooligan. Miss Patty and Babette had been giddy upon seeing him, and Taylor had, and was still, shaking his head every time he saw the boy.
She and Max bid Lane, Dean, and Rory goodbye and left after paying Luke at the counter.
"That kid's odd," Dean commented. "The new guy."
"Yeah, he is," Rory mumbled.
Lane, who'd been blindly staring out the window, abruptly stood up and knocked her chair over.
"I have to go! Call me later, Rory," she said hastily, running out of the diner.
Rory nodded and noticed Mrs. Kim walking around across the street. She shook her head, laughing quietly to herself. Now it was just she and Dean sitting alone at their table. Dean, busy with eating his cheeseburger that Cesar had dropped off, didn't notice the odd daze that Rory seemed to be in.
"Rory!" Luke called out in all his gruffy glory.
Rory turned around and when she saw Luke gesturing for her to come to the counter, she excused herself from Dean and sat down on a barstool.
"Hey, Luke," she said, grinning.
He automatically poured her a large mug of coffee. Rory thanked him profusely, explaining how much she needed the caffeine that day.
"Jess! Get your butt out here! There's someone I want you to meet," Luke called out.
Jess walked out from store room with his nose stuck in... Well, well, a Charles Bukowski book. It was the one from which he had quoted, Betting on the Muse Poems and Stories. There was a pen in his left hand that he seemed to be holding onto so that he could write in the novel. Rory didn't understand why a person would ever write in a book and decided that Jess lost some critical brownie points for his vandalism.
"Jess, this is Rory. Rory, this is my nephew Jess," Luke said, introducing them.
Jess mumbled a, "Hey."
He glanced up from his book for a moment and when he saw that she was the girl from the table who'd stared at him, he put the book down and smirked.
Rory replied with a terse, "Nice to meet you."
"So, Rory," Luke began, "I was thinking that you might show Jess around town for a while... Just... just until he gets used to being here."
Rory turned to Luke with a "you've got to be kidding me" expression on her face. He couldn't really be serious... The look on his face told her that he was.
"U-Uh, yeah — sure," she stuttered.
Luke gave her an awkward smile.
"Great! Uh, thanks," he said.
Jess crossed his arms in front of his chest, that ridiculous smirk still in place. Rory tried hard not to glare at him because Luke was still standing there.
"Well, I'm going to get back to Dean now," Rory said.
"Hey uh, if you don't mind... I really wanted to see the Fall Festival tonight," Jess replied, stopping her.
"Tonight?"
"Yeah... tonight. Like, not now but a few hours from now. That kind of tonight."
Rory nodded curtly and offered to meet him at the diner around six. When she got back to the table, Dean was finished with his food and ready to go. They paid at the counter and left.
"What was that all about?" he asked her once they got outside.
"Luke just wants me to show Jess around the town until he gets used to living here," Rory said.
Dean's brow furrowed and he unconsciously grabbed her hand.
"Oh. So are we still on for tonight's Festival?" he inquired.
"Oh no! I can't. I'm really sorry, Dean. I promised Jess I would bring him to the festival. It'll be a great way for him to meet some new people, everyone will be there," Rory explained.
Dean's hand tensed in hers and she knew even as he said that he was, he wasn't alright with it.
"What if I meet up with you after the festival? At the Black, White, and Red bookstore for a movie?"
Dean, looking around, nodded.
"Fine. I'll see you after the festival then," he said, and left her standing alone outside the diner.
As Rory was getting ready for the Festival that night, the phone rang. She hopped around, trying to put her shoes on and find the phone at the same time. It wasn't on the receiver in the living room and it wasn't in the kitchen. She heard it ringing in the tv armoire and wondered why Lorelai would put it in there, when she realized that she had been the one to leave the phone in there.
She picked up to hear Lane yelling, "I'm leaving in a minute!"
"Lane?"
"Oh, hi, Rory," Lane replied, bemused.
"What's up?"
"Remember when I told you that I would meet up with you and Dean at the festival tonight?" Lane said.
Rory rolled her eyes, remembering that she'd promised Lane as well that they would go to the festival.
"Yeah..." she said.
"Well, I can't go with you. Apparently one of my dad's business associates is in town with his seventeen-year-old son, a future optometrist, and my mom set me up for a date with him and his sister and her husband tonight. I think my mom's losing faith in me getting a good husband... Optometrists are low for her standards..."
"Oh. Well, that's okay. I canceled my date with Dean for the festival anyway. Luke asked me to show Jess around for a while and he wanted to go to the festival," Rory explained.
"Taking James Dean out? Good luck with that," Lane replied sympathetically.
"Yeah well... I don't know how it'll go."
"I have to go... I think the future optometrist and his extended family are here for our date. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"Yeah, sure."
At the diner, before Rory's imminent arrival, Luke decided he would speak to Jess about the tour guide he'd set up.
"Look, Jess... you've gotta understand that this girl comes with heavy baggage. The entire town is crazy about her and her mother, especially her boyfriend. He's not one to be taken lightly. So, if you know what's right for you... you'll leave her the hell alone," Luke warned him.
Jess sighed nonchalantly.
"What makes you so sure that I'm going to try something with this girl?" he asked.
"The way you looked at her when I introduced you. I know that look. It's that look you give when you want something and you'll do whatever it takes to get it," Luke said.
"I have no such look!" Jess denied.
"You have a look, Jess."
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about."
"Do I have your word that you'll leave Rory alone? I knew she would never say no if I asked her to show you around... but now I'm not so sure I want her around you."
"What? I can't believe this! You're patronizing me!" Jess exclaimed.
He noticed Rory approaching the diner and gave Luke one last glare before walking around the counter to meet her.
"Give me your word," Luke hissed.
"No."
A/N: Heyyy! Guess what? I'm back. Huh. Well, I really didn't expect any feedback on the last chapter, but I got some and boy am I glad! Thanks for the reviews, guys! Anyway, a bit of background to this story... It takes place the summer after Season 1 ended. The reason I'm writing this is that I've only seen about the last 3-4 episodes of season 2, but I know what the gist of it is... and I really didn't like how it played out... So... of course, I decided to butt-in and write my own version. I really hope I have the characters right because I've never written Gilmore Girls fanfiction... I only just started READING it a few days ago... so I'm new to the concept.
Basically what I'm trying to say is... don't flame me. And... I'm all for constructive criticism, so if you've got some... do tell me! Kay, thanks again for the reviews, and hope you like this chapter!
