Disclaimer: Don't own...
A/N: Okay, so, I had almost all of this written for weeks, but I was really having trouble with the ending. So, that's the only way that I could have updated two of my stories on the same day. Because for some reason, this story is harder to write than others. I really want to make this interesting for you. Not just a stupid story about four friends going on a roadtrip. I want there to be all kinds of feelings involved...lol.
Okay, so, don't hate me for the ending. Because I was really evil. So, if you want another chapter, you gotta remember to review. Enjoy!
Jess rolled over in the small bed, Rory was still sound asleep, and their clothes were still soaked. They were too worked up last night to actually get their bags and clothes. But, he would have to get them now, before Rory got up. He wanted to be there when she woke up so she wouldn't be more mad than she was already. A mad Gilmore Girl was never a good thing.
He walked out of the bedroom, not waking up Rory.
Jess let out a long sigh when he finally made it to the small living room where he found Ava sitting there drinking a cup of coffee and reading. He recognized the title, The Sun Also Rises By: Hernest Hemmingway. He smiled at this, and sat in the chair in front of her.
She looked up from her book, taking her small glasses off with a small smile. Ava showed the cover to him, as if to show him that she was reading it.
"Do you remember? You used to read this to me all the time." Ava smiled. "Specially the nights that I was alone, and your mom was out. We were thirteen and I didn't like to read much...but you wouldn't take no for an answer."
Jess smiled, leaning back into his chair. "I would read this to you, or I would give you a list to read on your own." He whispered, recalling those days.
"It feels like just yesterday." She nodded. "You know, Jess, we should do it again some time."
"As friends?"
"Of course." Ava bit her lip, he loved the way she did that, it looked super cute. She knew this, and it made him smile or give her the famous Jess smirk. "I think I still read it over and over again because it reminds me of you...it's the exact same copy that we used to read."
He rolled his eyes, "You always used to keep junk."
"Junk?" Ava exclaimed, with a smile. "This is definitely not junk."
Jess laughed, "I bet you still have that stupid pink porcelain unicorn that we broke in two when we were ten."
"Hey, Princess is just fine after we glued it with super glue."
"My hand was glued to it for a week first." He mumbled.
She laughed, making him smile. "My god, Princess is such a stupid name..."
Jess shrugged, "We were ten and we had no imagination."
She smiled, looking at him who was smirking. She was about to say something, then stopped herself because Rory had walked into the room. She stood up, setting the book on the coffee table. She stuck out her hand which Rory shook.
"Hi. I'm Ava. You must be Jess' girlfriend?" Ava smiled, looking over at Jess.
Rory nodded, still not smiling. "Yup. Rory."
They both looked over to Jess, who was looking at them with a questioning look. Ava still had that smile on her face, and Rory was simply crossing her arms over her chest and looking over at her boyfriend.
"Ugh, I hate this! I hate this. I really, really hate this!" Rory exclaimed, punching the pillow in Lane and Dave's room in Eric's apartment. Well, Rory and Lane were trying to have a girl talk, but Rory kept on hitting the pillow, or punching it.
Lane raised an eyebrow at her, taking the pillow away from her. "Okay, Rory, I don't think the pillow had anything to do with this..."
Rory rolled her eyes, "Nope. Your completely right! It's Jess' fault. Stupid Jess' fault. When Ava batts her eyelashes he just swoons at her feet! I mean, come on, 'Oh, come on, you guys can't leave yet. Please stay a little while. It will be just like old times.'" She exclaimed imitating Ava.
Lane laughed, "I don't think hating Ava is going to do anything."
"No. But, hating Jess might have some effect."
"Yes, to make you crazy." Lane quipped. "Okay, I think that we should talk about this...Ava seems really nice and you have been nothing but mad at her from this morning. Did something happen?"
She sighed, tucking her hair behind her ears. "Yes."
"Go ahead."
"I walked in on them talking this morning." Rory bit her lip. "And there's already a problem with that already. He was with Ava when he was supposed to be with me. Apologizing for hugging her!"
"He hugged her?"
She groaned, "Yes. It was supposed to be an innocent 'goodnight hug', but it was a lot more than that. I have never seen so much emotion in one hug. Not only that...but, I saw a lot of regret. And not Jess regretting her...but, Jess regretting that he ever broke up with her."
"I'm sure that's not true, Rory. He's crazy about you."
She shrugged, "Lane, when I walked in...she was doing these cute gestures, and he was thinking about her. I could tell. He was smiling at her, and looking at her face, as if examining every single thing in her face. They were talking about everything and nothing. She made him laugh."
Lane shook her head, "You can make him laugh."
"Yes. But, nobody else could...and now Ava can. So, it's like..."
"You feel threatened." Lane nodded, understanding. "But, Rory, come on...you can't possibly be thinking that Jess is going to forget about you and run to Ava. For one thing, he lives in Stars Hollow...and for another; He loves you, he's your boyfriend, and he stays there for you."
"He's going to resent me." Rory sniffled. "And he doesn't love me. Not once has he told me that he did, and resenting can make a person hate the other...I really, really don't want that."
She gave her a sad smile. "I know. I really know."
Jess and Eric were trying to make dinner, but Eric kept on making mistakes or burning himself. When he did this, Ava would laugh, or Jess would call him an idiot over and over again. Jess was happy to be there, as much as he liked spending time with Rory and her friend's, he liked to spend time with his own friends. And that was what Rory wanted, right?
Rory walked in and took in the image in front of her, her boyfriend was standing in front of a pot and Ava was trying to place a Chef's hat on his head, but he was making it rather difficult.
Jess turned around, to look at Ava. "You know, I have a hot spoon in my hand...I can very much hit you over the head with it."
She giggled, "I can take that chance just to laugh my ass off." Then, she looked interested in what they were doing. "Hey, Jess, Eric is messing up your sauce thing..."
Eric shook his head, "I am not."
"Just get away from my stove, Eric." He sighed. He took the spoon out of the sauce, with a little sauce still in the spoon. "Ava, come here, and try this sauce. Tell me if you like it." He fed her a small spoonful of the sauce and she smiled.
"I love it...much better than the crap that we eat every single day here." She looked accusingly at Eric.
Rory could feel tears in her eyes once again, she turned on her heel and ran out of the kitchen.
Eric looked at Jess, "You better go after her, man. She looked about to cry."
Jess groaned, "I'm going to give her a second first...I'll wait until she calms down a bit."
At that second, Dave walked into the room. "Mmm...something smells crazy good in here. And let me tell you, I'm starving." He looked over Jess' shoulder. "Ah, we're having pasta?" Jess nodded, giving him a fake smile.
"Hey, Dave, where's Lane?" Ava asked.
"Cleaning our sheets...again." He rolled his eyes.
Jess sighed, "Girls. Can't live with them and can't–, No, that's about it." He smirked as Ava hit him on the arm.
After a little more conversation, Jess knew he needed to go after Rory. She would get more mad if he didn't do it at all...even though he was pretty sure that she was as mad as one needed to ever be. He walked into 'their' room and expected to see Rory sitting there on the bed. But, he didn't, he saw that there was a light in the bathroom, because the light came through under the door.
He knocked on the door, but not getting a response, he simply pushed the door open. He found her sitting on the edge of the bathtub, her face in her hands. She looked up at him, and wiped the tears from her eyes quickly in an attempt to keep him from seeing her cry.
"What's wrong?" He whispered, sitting next to her.
She gave him a fake smile. "Nothing...PMS."
"It's not PMS, Rory. You have been upset ever since I hugged Ava." He stated, concerned. "Is that it?...Ava? Are you upset about Ava?"
"Of course not, Jess. It's nothing. Just, please, leave me alone." She stood up, feeling uncomfortable around him suddenly. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Look, I'm going to go get some rest. Maybe a nap. I'll feel better, I promise."
She gave him a nod, and walked out of the room.
Jess followed her out, and stood at the door frame of the bathroom. He watched her pull her shoes off and lay down, facing the other way so he couldn't see her face. He walked over to the bed, and lay beside her. He kissed her shoulder blade through her sweater. He put his arm around her and took her hand, squeezing it tightly. "Please don't be upset. Whatever it is...I hate seeing you cry." He could hear her silent sobs.
"I see the way you look at her." She wiped tears from her cheek, and all he could do was hold her tighter.
He sighed, "You mean like a friend?"
"Exactly the opposite."
He lifted up his head to try to see her face. "Rory, come on, she is just a friend. Just because we used to date does not mean that I have any interest in her now. You are my girlfriend, and I'm just trying to find out what's bothering you."
By the time he finished that sentence, she had pulled her hand away and sat up. She tucked her hair behind her ears. "You're bothering me. Why can't you tell me the truth for once and tell me that you are actually attracted to another woman?"
"I am not attracted to her." Jess stated. "She is just a friend, and that's it."
"Oh, come on, Jess. Don't lie to me. This morning, I was right there. You looked at her like she was the most amazing thing in the world. And the sad thing is that I actually thought that I was the only one." Rory bit her lip, tears coming down her cheeks.
"Rory..." He tried.
"You two have history, Jess. I get it. I know nothing about what happened back then. But, I'm sure that she was really special to you. I know how hard it can be to get over your first love."
Jess flinched, "How is it that in every conversation that we have we always come back to Dean?"
"You know what? You know nothing about what happened in our relationship...it was hard for me to let go of him, Jess. And I know you don't understand that because you know nothing about Dean, but it was."
Jess, getting mad, stood up. "I don't know what your so jealous of, Rory. Ava is great, but we have totally different lives now."
"Be honest with me, Jess," Rory swallowed hard, having a bad feeling in her stomach, "Is Stars Hollow the only thing keeping you from being together?" She looked straight into his eyes, and she saw a touch of fear in his eyes, and regret.
To be continued...
