Chapter 6

Author's Note: Hi everyone, thank you for the reviews y'all left. I really appreciate it. We have made it to chapter 6! So, y'all tell me should we end the story here? I think it could be an ending but if y'all want it to continue there are still some avenues I could explore. In case y'all want it to end here, thank you to everyone who stopped by to read!

6

Rory awoke from her nap to the sound of the front door closing. She didn't know how long she had fallen asleep for but the setting sun and the pangs in her stomach told her it was time to eat. She rubbed her eyes awake, stretched, still feeling terrible about what happened with Dean but feeling a nervous jumble of glee at the thought of Jess. She sighed trying to clear her head, she would talk to him soon but first she needed some food. Rory walked out of her room to find her mom placing take out bags on the kitchen table and removing her coat.

"Hey you, you woke just in time. Dinner is here!" Lorelai announced proudly.

"Mmmmmm, it smells so good! But, I thought you were going to get it delivered."

"Oh yeah, well, I just had a few things to do so I decided I might as well pick up instead." Lorelai smiled with a wave of her hand as she started to pull out the boxes of food from their bags. "Oh! Can you pull out some plates please? Lorelai asked. Rory made to move behind her mom to get to the cabinet with the plate. Lorelai grabbed the plates from Rory and started to serve silently. Rory could feel a weird tension.

"Mom are you okay? You're never this quiet. You seem a little frazzled."

Lorelai looked at her daughter and sighed. "It's that noticeable huh?" Rory raised her eyebrows in agreement. She could read her Mom like that back of her hand.

It's Luke isn't it? You only get like this when you've had a fight with Luke."

"I-That is not true."

"Mom, please, I know you. What happened with Luke? Did you run into him?"

Lorelai looked down trying her best to avoid eye contact. She continued serving food without saying a word. "Mom, what happened? Anyhow, isn't he supposed to be working at the diner at this hour?"

"Oh, he was." She replied pursing her lips in a tight line.

"So you went to the diner? If you went to the diner, why didn't you order food from there?" She questioned, confused as to why the takeout wasn't from Luke.

"Well, I didn't go for the food, persay...I just had to say a few things."

"You...wait...Mom...what did you do?" She asked, her heart rate spiking. Her thoughts went immediately to Jess. "Please, tell me you didn't say anything to Jess. I haven't even had a chance to say anything to Jess." Lorelai stayed quiet and she began getting them utensils. "Mom, what did you do?" she asked again, anxiety making her voice crack. Panic setting in.

Lorelai stopped what she was doing, put her hands on the counter and looked directly at Rory. "I did what I thought was right. And you may not agree with it now but in the long run you'll know it's for the best." There was hurt and anger in Rory's eyes. She stood there motionless. "Rory, honey, Jess is not right for you. He's a delinquent who has no respect for anything and I'll be damned if I stand by and not do anything to stop you from making a mistake I know you'll regret."

At that, Rory jumped into life. She could not believe what her Mom was saying. "That is my mistake to make! You have no right deciding who I choose as my friends let alone who I decide to have a relationship with!"

"Rory, calm down. You know I only want the best for you and Jess is not it." Lorelai replied, raising her hands in the air to emphasize her point.

"You have no idea who Jess is. You haven't spent any time with him. How could you say that about him when you didn't even get a chance to know him!" Rory began shaking her head in disbelief and anger feeling the need to see Jess. She backed out of the kitchen to grab her jacket from her room.

"Rory! I'm not done talking to you." Lorelai yelled from the kitchen. Rory came back into her view throwing her jacket on and rushing past her.

"Where are you going?" She tried grabbing for Rory's arm but she missed.

"To fix what you destroyed." That was the last thing Lorelai heard as Rory took off running leaving the back door closing behind her.

Luke heard the door chime and as usual he looked up to see the next guest who needed attending but what he saw was not what he was expecting. He stopped wiping the counter and flung the kitchen towel over his shoulder.

"Rory? Are you alright?" He asked, alarmed by her appearance. She was disheveled, out of breath, and the rims of her eyes were tinged red.

"Luke.." she responded breathlessly approaching the counter, "Jess...I need to see him. Where is he?"

Luke pursed his lips. "Rory, come here for a sec." Luke waved her over to a room in the back where he kept his supplies. She followed him wondering why he wasn't just telling her where Jess was. He was supposed to be working until closing. She remembered him telling her that this morning but she didn't see him anywhere. Maybe he was upstairs.

"I know Mom was here earlier." She said shaking her head, apologetically and embarrassed by the whole ordeal. "I need to talk to him, to fix whatever she.." but Rory stopped talking when she saw the somber look on Luke's face. He looked down, avoiding her eyes when they met.

"Luke? What is it? What's wrong? Where's Jess?" She said a little more loudly, boldly, nervous that he wasn't saying anything fast enough. The panic was settling in her bones. She needed to know.

"Rory," Luke began slowly, swallowing before he continued, "I know it's not your fault that Lorelai came here and yelled at Jess and me. I understand that you had nothing to do with it and that you care for Jess."

"Luke," Rory said in a small voice fearing the worst, "Where is Jess?" She could feel an emptiness seeping into her soul. Her eyes wide in panic were beginning to close as a fresh fountain of tears threatened to spill over with every tortuous second that Luke was taking to answer her question.

"I tried. Rory, I really tried." She could hear the hurt and frustration in his voice. "I tried talking him out of it but he wouldn't listen to me." He closed his eyes and threw the kitchen towel from his shoulder against the wall. "He's so stubborn." He shook his head, releasing a breath to try to calm himself.

"Luke, please...where is he?!" She asked again as a single tear slid down her cheek.

He looked at her for a moment longer, with a sympathetic look that killed her hopes, "I don't know."

There it was. She could not comprehend what he was saying. "What do you mean?" She scrunched her eyebrows in confusion refusing to believe what Luke had just said. "He told me he was going to be at the diner until closing...where did he go?" She asked desperately.

Luke took a deep breath. "After Lorelai was here, Jess was really beat up about everything that happened between you and Dean and when Lorelai blamed him for how tormented you were about everything he thought he would make everyone's life easier by leaving…"

"Leaving? What...How...I-" Rory was struggling to form a response.

"He packed his bag and against my best efforts he left." Rory was stunned. She could not believe it. Jess wouldn't just leave without saying goodbye to her, would he?

"But...he didn't even say goodbye…" She squeaked, not trusting that her voice could remain steady.

"Rory, I'm really sorry." Luke told her as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I can't believe that he just left...I didn't even get the chance to say…" But Rory couldn't finish the sentence. She broke down and let the tears flow down her cheeks. Luke enveloped her in a hug as she wept into his shirt.

After what felt like hours, Rory was able to calm herself. She found herself sitting at the counter of the diner taking a bite of a fry. Luke had insisted on her eating something to get her energy up. She sipped on her milkshake angry at her Mom for what she had done, angry at Jess for leaving, and angry at her inability to do nothing. She felt horrible but when her eyes met Luke's she gave him a small smile grateful for him.

"How are you feeling, kiddo?" Luke asked as he picked up the empty plate in front of Rory.

Rory released a breath. "I think I'm going to head home now."

"Do you want me to take you home?" Luke offered.

"Thanks, Luke but I'd like to walk, clear my head a bit."

"Okay, Rory. If I hear anything from Jess I'll let you know."

Rory gave him a small smile and nodded her head. "Bye Luke."

She walked out of the diner with no intention of walking home just yet. She still couldn't face her Mom. She needed the crisp night air to fill her lungs with calm before she went home. As she walked through town her thoughts kept coming back to Jess. She felt numb, powerless. How could he leave when she had poured her heart into that kiss. Had he not felt her passion and feelings for him? With no clear direction to where she was going, she found herself nearing the spot of where she had shared her first kiss with Jess, the bridge. As she approached closer, she saw a figure sitting there. He was looking at nothing in particular, picking at a stray blade of grass he picked up before he sat down. Next to him, she could see a duffle bag laid on its side. Jess.

"Jess." She said in surprise. Rory was frozen at the first wooden panels of the bridge. He didn't respond immediately. He seemed to be in a trance, ghostlike, she wasn't sure if he had actually heard her call his name. She took a few steps towards him, "Jess." This time she saw a shadow of recognition pass over his face and he turned to look at her.

"Jess...I went looking for you at the diner." Still, Jess remained motionless but his eyes searched the depths of hers willing her to continue. "I know my Mom went to the diner and said awful things to you but you have to know...that is not how I feel. You know how I feel about you."

"Do I?" Jess questioned skeptically but she could hear the quiet softness in his tone.

"Yes."

"You actually haven't told me. You like spending time with me but you rush me out of your house, hiding the fact that I was ever there. You kiss me and then you run away…"

"Jess, I-"

"Your Mom is right, you know." Jess breaks away from her eyes and stares back to the cold water beneath his feet. "I'm no good for you. It's better if I just leave Stars Hollow and go back to my old life in New York where I don't have to deal with the fact that no one wants me-"

"Stop." Jess looks at her again. "You do not get to decide what is best for me. You do not get to just leave me here without you. Not after everything." Jess stays quiet for a moment and she can see the surprise in his eyes. She takes a few steps closer to him kneeling a foot away from him. "Jess, you are the best thing that has happened to me since you walked into this town. Sure, you drove me a little crazy in the beginning but you weasled your way into my heart and I will not let you destroy something that hasn't even had a chance to live." Rory searched Jess' eyes and for the first time since she found him she saw a spark of life. "I rushed you out of my house because I knew my Mom would kill us both and she'd dislike you even more. I tried to avoid that because I want you two to get along. And our kiss, did you not feel everything I was trying to say in that kiss? How much I like you, how I crave to have your touch, your lips perfectly molded to mine? The ache in my bones to have you close to me? Did you not feel that? I ran away because I needed to let my Mom know that I was okay but more than anything my feelings for you scared me because even with Dean I had never felt a fraction of what I feel when I'm with you. I needed to process all of that and that's why I said I would find you later. I went to the diner looking for you and Luke told me you had packed your bag and left. Left without saying a goodbye. Is that how much I don't matter to you?! You were going to leave without saying goodbye to me?" Her voice cracked as she tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill over at the thought of him leaving.

Jess was stunned. This entire time, Rory had wanted him as much as he wanted her. Jess reached out and caressed her cheek with the palm of his hand. "Rory, forgive me." She shook her head but pushed against the warmth of his palm. "I was planning on leaving but I was planning on saying goodbye first." She opened her eyes to look at him. "I was going to stop by your house later tonight and try to talk to you. I thought about throwing little rocks at your window to avoid Lorelai. I did feel you in that kiss and that is why I am still here. I couldn't leave without talking to you…"

Rory placed her hand on his. She lunged herself at him, hugging him in her need to close the distance between them. She needed to feel the warmth of his body, feel his protective arms around her, inhale his familiar scent. She knocked him on his back and snuggled into the crook of his neck. Jess squeezed her tight against him. "I've been wanting to do this for so long," she whispered, tickling the skin on his neck.

"Me too." he said squeezing her tighter as if it were even possible knowing that soon they would have to let go. Rory would have to walk home and Jess would go back to Luke but for right now, they let themselves get lost in each others' warmth for a moment that felt like it would last for eternity.