DISCLAIMER: I don't own Gilmore Girls or any brand names mentioned in the following text. Don't sue me. : )

The Rebel's Princess

Chapter 3: The One Where Lorelai Dumps Max

July 9, 2006


"Oh, God... they're busting out the kids in leaf costumes," Rory sighed.

She and Jess were walking around the town in utter boredom. They'd bumped into Lane on her pseudo-date with the future optometrist and Rory had smiled sympathetically at her. They'd also run into Kirk in a pumpkin-outfit and Miss Patty had already tried to hit on Jess.

"Is this a normal occurrence?" Jess asked her, gesturing at the Fall Festival.

"Oh yeah... you'll see one of these every month or so. Sometimes Taylor goes crazy and we have two or three a month," Rory said. "This town loves to celebrate."

"It's full of unbalanced weirdos," Jess mumbled.

Rory eyed him and replied, "They're not all bad."

Jess looked back at her and shrugged.

"Sfar's I've seen..."

"Rory!"

They turned around and spotted Dean coming their way, his little sister Clara in tow. He was looking at Jess warily and Rory did her best to put some space between them. Jess smirked at her and stood closer.

"Dean, hey," Rory said awkwardly.

"Hi, Rory," Clara said.

Rory greeted Dean's sister and the group of four stood awkwardly in front of the empty Luke's diner until Dean broke it by saying he would catch Rory later that night.

"He your boyfriend?" Jess asked, raising an eyebrow as he watched them walk away.

"Uh, yes... yes he is," Rory replied. "Why?"

"Never pretend to a love which you do not actually feel, for love is not ours to command," he muttered, stuffing his hands in his pockets and looking around. "Alan Watts."

Seeing no one there, Jess pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

"What do you mean by that? I love Dean very much," Rory insisted.

"Mmhm," Jess replied.

He pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and walked into the diner, leaving Rory standing outside on the curb. She groaned and walked back to the Town Square to find Dean.

After their movie at the Black White and Red Bookstore, Dean walked Rory back to her house where Rory found Lorelai sitting on the porch in tears.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

She bid Dean a quick goodbye and ran up to her mother. Lorelai shook her head and smiled sadly at her daughter.

"I called the wedding off," she said by way of explanation.

Rory's blue eyes widened and she rubbed Lorelai's back soothingly. Why would she call the wedding off?

"But why? I thought you were ready for this!"

"Because I don't love him, babe. I was so sure about this..."

"Come on," Rory said, pulling Lorelai to her feet.

"Where are we going?"

Rory looked at her mother and smiled.

"You're going to wallow, of course," she said. "Now... first we're going to get Luke out of bed to make us the biggest cup of coffee he can muster up and then we're going to Doose's Market to get as much chocolate and ice cream as possible and then we're going to go to the video store and pick up an angst-filled chick-flick."

Lorelai wiped her face free of tears and pulled Rory into a hug. She kissed her temple, all the while stroking her hair.

"Rory... I want you to know... If he had been right for me... I would know. I promise," she whispered.

"I know," Rory said. "I just... I really wanted him to be my stepfather."

"I'm sure he would have been a great step dad for you," Lorelai replied.

She pulled away from Rory and grabbed her hand. They bounded off the porch and made their way into the dark Stars Hollow. Most of the people were still celebrating at the Fall Festival, but there were some milling around town at the stores that were still open and at the bookstore for a late showing.

Luke's Diner was dark and closed but Rory banged on the door as hard as she could until Luke came running down the stairs in a huff. He looked mad enough to want to shoot someone, so Rory gestured to Lorelai and he begrudgingly opened the door to let them in.

"You're despicable," he grumbled.

"And yet, you opened the door," Rory pointed out.

Lorelai sat down quietly on a stool at the counter and Rory wondered if she should leave them alone to talk.

"Uh, is Jess upstairs?" she asked Luke.

He nodded at her and she took that as invitation enough to walk around and up the stairs. As she neared the door to Luke's apartment, she heard the tv blaring and knocked when she noticed the lights were still on.

Jess came to the door wearing a pair of flannel pants with socks on. Rory blushed and decided she would probably be better off downstairs. She was about to turn around when Jess spoke.

"Are you just going to stand there or were you actually going to come in?" he asked her.

He left her standing at the door and returned to the dining table to read. It was a different book than the one from that afternoon. Anna Karenina stared back at her as she walked up to the table.

"Uh, if you don't mind," Rory began, gesturing to his bare-chested-ness.

"Am I making little Miss Gilmore blush? I thought your boyfriend would do enough of that," Jess scoffed.

"What is it with you and your snotty remarks about Dean? If you want us to be friends, you have got to stop insulting my boyfriend," Rory replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

Jess shrugged.

"The two of you amuse me," he said by way of reply.

Rory, staring at the carpet, glared.

"You're a jerk," she said.

"So I've been told. And yet, here you are," he replied. His scrutinizing gaze never moved away from her. "Why are you here anyway?"

"My mom wanted coffee," Rory said.

"At nearly eleven o'clock? Your mother's an odd woman," Jess said.

"Don't start."

"Don't start what?"

"You don't even know my mother. Don't start insulting her," Rory exclaimed, still gazing at the ground.

"I wasn't going to, but fine."

There was silence for a few minutes as Rory continued to seemingly be fascinated by the ground and Jess read from his Tolstoy book. The noise of the tv prevented any awkwardness.

"I should get back," Rory said.

"Yeah, probably."

"Goodnight, Jess."

"Goodnight, Rory," Jess answered.

She walked awkwardly out of the apartment and back down to the diner where Lorelai was sipping out of a mug of coffee as she pestered Luke about the autumn decorations Taylor had made him put on his windows.

"Hey, there," Rory said, giving Lorelai a smile. "Ready for some chocolate binging?"

Lorelai grinned at her.

"Yep. This coffee's got me on a high and I'm ready to binge," she said.

Luke smirked from behind the counter and Lorelai walked out of the diner after Rory said she'd be out in a minute.

"Thanks, Luke," Rory said.

She stood awkwardly at the foot of the stairs for a moment before deciding to get it over with before she chickened out. She rushed up to Luke and gave him a quick hug.

"Really. Thank you."

Luke, stunned by Rory's sudden display of affection, clumsily patted her on the back. Rory stepped away and rushed quickly out of the diner. Luke stared out after them until Jess broke him out of his reverie.

"You missed most of Three's Company."

"Yeah well... whatever," Luke muttered.

"You're really hooked," Jess replied and he hurried up the stairs before Luke could deny it.


A/N:Sorry for the lateness and the lack of longness (is that a word?) of this chapter. I've been kinda busy writing for my original fiction story on Fiction Press. Anyway, I know the chapter's short... I knowwww. I'm sorry. I didn't want to drag it out and make it boring, so Lorelai broke up with Max, boohoo, lol. I actually liked Max in the show (ahhh! gasp!) but just as Rory's teacher and not as Lorelai's boyfriend. So he'll be back as her teacher sooner or later. Umm... oh yeah, a little JavaJunkie fluffage in thischapter. My way of saying how much I like the Luke/Lorelai pairing.

The next chapter covers the immediate aftermath of Lorelai's breakup and the town's reaction, so not much Jess/Rory coming up (although there will be some! not to fear!).

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I really appreciate them!

IMPORTANT NEWS: My website's finally up and running so do check out the sections I made for Fanfiction and for Character Pics! Thanks.