Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or any of its characters.

So, after a little planning, I've decided that there's going to be a little Jess/Rory romance in here, as well as Jess/Cecilia (needless to say). But as far as the ending goes, can't tell you guys that part. There'd be no point to the story then. Anyway, enjoy the new chapter!

Chapter III: Open Book

Stars Hollow hadn't changed much, Jess thought as he and Cecilia took a drive around the small town. Same shops. Same streets. Same people. Oddly enough, he felt almost at home when he arrived in town last night; almost as if he found a part of him that he had lost a long time ago.

"This place looks like something out of a Hallmark card," Cecilia mused, looking at the decorations for the festival.

Jess scoffed, "I wouldn't count on it."

Cecilia then turned to Jess, her hazel eyes fixed thoughtfully on him.

"So that was Rory," she said quietly.

She had seen the way he looked at her. She saw the way she looked at him. There was an unfinished business between them, and Cecilia knew she had no place in it. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but feel a pang of worry course through her veins.

Jess kept his eyes on the road, seemingly unfazed by her comment. He was determined to keep Rory off his mind, for both his and Cecilia's sake. He remained silent, and Cecilia decided to drop the subject. She'd known him long enough to know how far she could push the envelope.

In an attempt to break the awkward tension, Cecilia asked, "So, how about that Firefly Festival tonight? Are we going?"

As the car approached a red light, Jess met Cecilia's gaze. "Why? Do you want to go?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "It might be fun."

Jess let his eyes wander over the delicate contours of her face, and he let his heart swell in the endearing affection he held for the girl before him. In spite of himself, he reached out and held her hand.

"Alright," he gently said. "We'll go."

Cecilia smiled. "Alright." And with that, she bent over a placed a lingering kiss on his lips.

Later that day, while Cecilia went out to run some errands, Jess was up in Luke's apartment typing away on his laptop. Nearly a year ago, he had started writing his own novel and he was determined to finish it. Although the story was fictional, it was intended to reflect him and his experiences.

Hitting a snag in his train of thought, Jess sat back in his chair and sighed. For several minutes, he stared at the computer screen, hoping that the words he needed to continue the narrative would magically reveal themselves to him. No good, Jess thought as he stood up and stretched. Moving over to the window, he leaned against the wall and gazed at the town below. Kids were running along the street and the trees were swaying in the wind. And from the looks of it, Kirk and Taylor had gotten into another petty argument.

Soon enough, Jess reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. He stared at it seemingly deep in thought when, suddenly, Luke came in.

"Hey," he said as he headed for the fridge. "What are you doing?"

By then, Jess had quickly slipped the box back into his pocket. "Writing," he replied, returning to his laptop.

Luke began rummaging through the items in the fridge, looking for a fresh jar of pickles. The sound of scraping cans and clanging jars was soon enough noise to force Jess to relinquish his writing attempt altogether.

At length, Luke asked, "Where's Cecilia?"

Jess stared pointedly at Luke. "Out."

"You know, she really is a great girl," Luke commented as he continued to sort through the fridge.

"That's why I'm planning to marry her," Jess muttered under his breath.

Apparently, Luke didn't hear Jess's statement as he stood up and exclaimed, "Aha! I knew I had it lying around somewhere."

Jess just remained silent as he watched Luke head for the door. Before he left, however, he turned to his nephew and asked, "Oh, did you say something?"

Jess shook his head.

"Okay," Luke said, eyeing him suspiciously. "Well, anyway, if you could come down later and help me close up, that'd be great. I'm taking Lorelei to the festival tonight."

"Okay," Jess replied, as he watched Luke exit the room.

Once his uncle was gone, Jess pulled the box out again and opened it. Often, the thought behind the ring – the thought of her – was enough to revamp his urge to write. And at that moment, it was just the inspiration he needed to break him free from his writer's block. After running his finger over the silver band, Jess closed the box and continued on with his novel.

Meanwhile, Cecilia had been roaming around town, touring and window-shopping. Her curiosity, however, led her to reflect on the insane reputation Jess had conjured up for Stars Hollow. She knew almost everyone before arriving in town, and being able to meet them in person made it all the more exciting for her.

As she was passing by Andrew's book store, Cecilia suddenly spotted a book she had been dying to get a hold of for months. Without a moment's hesitation, she entered the shop and grabbed the book from the shelf. She took a minute to leaf through the book and skim over the pages before making her way to the cash register. As she was turning a corner however, Cecilia accidentally bumped into someone, causing a stack of books to plummet onto the floor.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Cecilia quickly apologized. "Here let me help you with that."

"No, that's okay," the person replied.

Recognizing the person's voice, Cecilia froze and glanced up only to see Rory with a meek smile across her face. Cecilia had no choice but to smile back, though uneasily, and continue picking up the books.

"Here you go," she said, handing the stack of novels to Rory.

"Uh, thanks."

The two girls both stood there for a moment, unsure of their next move. With the silence growing into a suffocating tension, Cecilia decided to break the awkward.

"So," she began. "I saw you at Luke's Diner this morning. Rory, right? Lorelei's daughter?"

"Yeah," Rory replied with a slight nod. "And you must be Cecilia. Luke mentioned you earlier."

"Oh, did he?"

"Yeah."

Cecilia bit her lip and Rory rubbed her arm, as they both fell into another lull.

At length, Cecilia sighed with exasperation and said, "Look, I'm just going to say what we're both not saying and let the chips fall." She paused and looked at a bewildered Rory before continuing. "I know about you and Jess. I know that you guys used to date. I know the whole story."

Taken aback by Cecilia's candor, Rory was at loss for words.

Cecilia gave an apologetic smile. "I just thought you should know."

She then turned around and headed for the cash register.

As she was leaving, however, Rory called to her and asked, "Are you going to the festival tonight?"

"Yeah," Cecilia replied.

With a small smile, Rory said, "I'll see you there then."

Cecilia blinked for a moment before returning the gesture. "Okay, see you there."