Just Another Lorelai Gilmore
Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or any of the affiliated characters/references .
Chapter 4.
I tossed my bag to the chair right inside the apartment, throwing the leather jacket I'd been wearing on top of it. Looking around the apartment, I couldn't help but smile. It looked different… emptier. A true sign of Luke joining his life with Lorelai; He actually moved his stuff into her house. Though different, it still felt all so familiar. Flashbacks of arguments, messy floors littered with my clothes, loud music that Luke would always try to yell over. And then the memories of her… heated make out sessions between us on that very couch, and even more heated debates about our favorite authors and books. I ran a hand through my hair, and willed myself to let the thoughts go.
Heading downstairs, I heard the lunch rush buzzing through the diner. Lane was just starting her shift and Caesar was getting ready to leave. "I hope I don't wake up with another crime scene in front of my store these days." Taylor stated loudly to Miss Patty at his table.
"Well it's good to see ya there Taylor. Hope you didn't miss me too much while I was gone." I gave him a smirk, that left him with an irritated scowl.
"Young man, I'm sorry, hoodlum-" he raised his eyebrows pointedly, "this town better not have any trouble while you're here. Why Luke has trusted you with his business this next week is beyond me." He waved his hand angrily in the air.
"Taylor, you leave that yummy specimen of a man alone. He's definitely got my vote to stick around." Patty gave me her infamous smile and wink, and a good look over. I suddenly wished I was wearing more clothes, like ten layers, so she couldn't use her imagination so much.
"Thanks for the vote Miss Patty, but It'll just be the week and then I will be out of your hair Taylor, well what's left of it, that is." A self conscious touch to his head and he was back to chatting away with Patty after I walked away. The guy was too easy to mess with, I'll never grow out of that.
"Hey Jess! Feels good to be back in the ol' Hollow right?" Lane teased, after watching the Taylor encounter. "Well I guess it hasn't been that long, since you were just here for the wedding."
"Just couldn't stay away I guess. You know me and this town go together like peanut butter and some disgusting thing that doesn't belong with peanut butter." I started wiping down the counter as she prepped some coffee.
"Have you stopped in to say hi to Rory yet? She could probably use the company since Lorelai has been gone this whole time. I've been a little busy with the kids, haven't had much time to see her, myself." She was now standing unusually close to me, with an eyebrow up.
"Well if she's so lonely, she should have her boyfriend Logan there to keep her busy with bad decisions and making her a felon for the second time." I walked away, not feeling this conversation was great to have at the moment.
But Lane popped up next to me in the storage room as I was grabbing more hamburger buns. "Would that be the only reason for you not wanting to go see her?" She stood in front of the doorway, as if blocking me in.
I looked at her all crazy, not sure what she was trying to get at here. "Look, I don't know what you're expecting me to say here, but yeah, her being with that ass hat is enough reason for me to not volunteer my company." I went to move around her, but she stepped in front of me again.
"Maybe just talk to her? Cause she might have something to say to you. Anyways, I'm taking my break." After that statement, she left the storage room, whipping her phone out and texting furiously.
"Seriously, everyone in this town…" I said to myself, rubbing my face in irritation.
A few hours later, we had died down and dinner was proving to be a slow shift. I propped up against the counter on my elbows and pulled out some poems I had to approve for Truncheon's local artists showcase. The bell above the door rang loud in the mostly silent diner, and the person sat directly in front of me at the counter.
"May I get a small decaf and some fries please?" That soft voice brought my eyes up from the pages in front of me and into the blue ones of Rory Gilmore.
I just nodded my head and went on to get her order. I didn't want to shut her out or be cold to her, but I didn't know if I should just push past what happened a couple weeks ago. She should know of all people, how I would feel about her being with that blonde prick.
"So decaf, huh?" Yup, couldn't keep up the silent treatment. Good will power there, jess.
"I, uh, just don't want to wire myself up. Trying to get a bite to eat and then going to relax at home and call it an early night." She was looking down into the coffee cup I had placed in front of her. I felt bad, remembering how upset she had looked pretty much the whole day of the wedding.
"So I'm closing early tonight if business doesn't pick up. Maybe I could swing by or you could come back so we can talk or hang? I know you said you were calling it an early night, but-" I didn't have a chance to finish as she nodded her head in response.
"I'll wait up, I mean, yeah I would like to hang out a bit. It's been lonely… without mom around and all." She gave me a genuine smile and dug into the fries I handed her. The rest of her stay was pretty quiet, and she left with a simple wave and 'see you later'.
I had no idea what we were to talk about, or if I should bring up our conversation from the night of the wedding. But I just felt a nagging feeling to be around her, and why destroy the peace we've made over my anger issues. I was just an old friend, and it may not be my place anymore to yell at her for decisions she's making.
—Later that night—
Unfortunately the town of Stars Hollow always conspires against me, and it seemed everyone was craving a good ol' diner meal for dinner. Do these people ever fend for themselves? How does Luke deal everyday? It was already past 10 pm, and I contemplated leaving the counters and and cleaning so I could hopefully catch Rory awake still.
Taking my chances, I slid on my jacket and locked up, heading over to her house. When I got to the door, I could see the living room glowing from the light and TV on, and gave a slight knock. No response, so I knocked a little harder, and finally heard some movement. The door creaked open, and she stood there, clad in the most ridiculous coffee cup pajamas. I would expect no less, and smirked at her.
"I wasn't sure we were still meeting up, I decided to be ready for bed." She let me inside and I felt awkward moving through the house without Luke there this time. "You can stop smirking, I'm gonna go change now." She rolled her eyes.
"No, don't change on my account. They're very fitting for you. And it is later than I thought, you should be comfortable. If you're too tired, we can just catch up another time." I stood in the hallway, while letting her decide, unsure if I should've just stayed at the diner.
"It's fine, I'm a little tired, but I'm ok hanging out now. Do you want something to drink?" She walked off towards the kitchen, probably assessing if they even had something in there besides water and coffee to offer. "We have some weird sparkling water Luke got, coffee, and regular water bottles."
"I'll just take a water bottle, thanks." I sat on the couch, and hung my jacket on the back of it, trying to feel settled. I had never spent much time in this house, when I visited, Luke was here and my time inside was short. She came back with the water and sat on the other end of the couch.
We sat there, for a little while, our eyes glued to whatever late night show was playing. I couldn't concentrate, but pretended to be interested in the program. "Jess…" I inadvertently snapped my head in her direction quickly, surprised by the sudden sound of her voice. "I'm not with Logan. And I didn't know if I should bring that up, but just know we're not together. We've remained… friends I guess you could say? Anyways, you just caught the tail end of a conversation, and he's not my boyfriend. Hasn't been since I graduated Yale." She let out a breath of air, as if relieved to have said it. And I was relieved too, to have the ice broken and the air cleared between us. I felt very bad now for the scene I had made, but I cared. I always cared.
"So I'm guessing this is why Lane encouraged me to talk to you. I'm sorry I got out of hand last time. I just couldn't stand thinking that you hadn't realized he wasn't right for you. I don't know why you're even his friend, but I guess the same could be said for us. So I'm apologizing and let's just let it go." She agreed with a warm smile. "Now can we do something besides sitting here waiting for this TV show to become interesting? How is your book coming along? You said you were inspired for more writing that night, did you get out all your thoughts?"
She held up her finger, walked into her room and then reappeared with a stack of papers in hand. "This is what I have so far. Mom hasn't read it, even though I offered. I was really hoping for some feedback." This time, she sat right beside me, handing me the pages she held in her hands.
The title, read 'The Gilmore Girls', but 'the' had been crossed out. "Good choice on leaving out that first word. 'Gilmore Girls' reads a lot better, almost cleaner." I was holding the draft, unsure if I could bring myself to read it.
"That's exactly what mom said! It's the only edit she gave me. So would you mind taking a look?" Her eyes pleaded with mine, and I felt seventeen again, holding back an urge to reach out and hold her. "I mean, maybe even just the first chapter, when you have time?" I flipped open the first page and started reading. "Oh right now? Umm, ok, I suddenly feel very self conscious and well, maybe you could just take it with you. You know I was kind of tired when I wrote it, so if its not up to par, or what you'd expect…"
"Rory, its really hard to read with you rambling in my ear." I said pretending to be annoyed. She grinned and shut her mouth, and in classic Rory form, started reading over my shoulder with me.
We sat there for a while, and as I finished the third chapter I looked over at her to say something, but she was fast asleep on my shoulder. I figured she had been waiting for me to finish, and instead had given in to sleep. I carefully tossed the stack of papers onto the coffee table in front of the couch and looked around. Well shit. I'd be lying if I said I was fine with waking her up and leaving. No, I wanted to stay here like this, but I wasn't sure if that was fair to her.
"Hey Ror, I better get going." I whispered into her ear as i nudged her leg with my hand, "you should probably get into bed where its more comfortable."
I lifted my arm that she was leaned against and attempted to stand up, but she just slipped her head down on my chest and wrapped an arm around me. She murmured in her sleep, almost too low but I heard her. "Just stay."
I froze. Waiting for her to wake up and realize what she said, or waiting for her to move away. But nothing happened. So I slowly leaned back onto the arm rest, as she laid against me sleeping. Her arm was draped across my stomach, she was cuddled up to my side, with her back to the couch. I was nearly hanging off the edge at that point, but I've never been more settled in my life. Deciding this is where I was now sleeping, I turned in towards her just a bit so I wasn't falling off the couch and eventually let sleep take over as well.
Well I decided to capture a little of Jess' thoughts in this one! Thank you for reading and reviewing! I'm trying to bring them closer together now to start off some better interactions! Hope you've enjoyed this chapter!*
