Thank you for your support so far! :) Here's the next chapter!

Chapter 2

"So Lorelai has decided to go and do 'Wild' apparently." Jess said as he grabbed some toast to eat.

"Book or film?" Paris asked.

"Book." Jess said.

"Why?" Paris said confused.

"I don't know." He sighed. "Something's going on between her and Luke. I think this is her way of trying to deal with everything but it's just made Luke think that she's going to break up with her."

Paris glanced at her. "Do you think she will?" She asked cautiously.

"I don't know." He said honestly.

"Doing 'Wild' doesn't exactly sound like Lorelai." Paris commented.

"Yeah tell me about it." Jess said. He glanced at her. "The magazine's all good now right? Ready to go out?"

"Yeah eventually." Paris said. "Why?"

"I'm thinking about going to Stars Hollow and see Luke. He didn't sound too good on the phone." Jess said. "Everything's going smoothly at Truncheon at the moment so I figured it would be ok."

"Don't see why not." Paris shrugged. "Rory's actually asked if I wanted to hang out today."

"So you'll be in Stars Hollow as well?" Jess said.

"Maybe you can finally tell Rory about you two then." Chris said walking in, grabbing some toast Jess had made.

"There's nothing to tell." Jess said.

"What, apart from you've been living and working together for the last three years?" Chris said.

"You're not helping." Jess sighed.

"I just don't see what the big deal is!" Chris shrugged. "You say you've moved on from Rory..." He told Jess.

"I have." He said.

"And she's moved on from you?"

"That's a pretty good bet, yeah." Jess nodded.

"Then why would she care?" Chris exclaimed. "Like you've told me and Matt numerous times, nothing's going on between you two and it's never going to..."

"Because that's the truth." Jess said glancing at Paris who had gone quiet.

"Then why would Rory care? I get it would be weird if you two are dating but you're not so..." He said.

Jess sighed. "It's just..."

"Complicated." Paris said.

"Complicated, yeah." Jess said.

"Well, whatever. But I think you're both fools. And you may have fooled yourselves into thinking you don't like each other but you haven't fooled me." Chris said. He sighed. "Look, you're two of my closest friends. I just don't want you to throw away something that could be great just because you're worried about Rory. If she's really your friend, she'll understand and she'll get over it. If she doesn't, well frankly you don't need her." He said.

"Except for that fact that I'll still see her seeing as she's sort of family." Jess pointed out.

"She's been sort of family for years and you've barely seen her. I mean you said when you saw her in Stars Hollow recently, that was the first time in ages right?" Chris said.

"True." Jess said.

"So what difference would it make?" He said. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to have my say. Have fun in Stars Hollow and don't worry about Truncheon. We'll look after it until you get back. Give our best to Luke ok?"

"I will." Jess said.

Chris nodded. "Matt, come on! We need to get going!"

"Coming, coming!" Matt said, grabbing some toast before following Chris out.

Jess sighed as he watched them and glanced over at Paris. "Well I guess that was us told." He said.

Paris smirked slightly. "Yeah.."

"Maybe we should just bite the bullet and tell her." He said.

"I don't know..." She said biting her lip.

"What? What are you so scared of?" He asked.

"I don't know! I just...Rory's always been there for me through everything. She's the only real friend I've ever had. She's...I just feel like I'm betraying her. I know that's weird but..." She sighed.

"No I get it." Jess said. "But you know she's not your only friend right?"

"What?" Paris said confused.

"Well I'm pretty sure Chris and Matt would be offended if they heard that." He smirked.

"They'll just have to deal with it." Paris said smirking slightly.

"And hey, we're friends! Well I'd say we're friends. Wouldn't you?" Jess shrugged.

Paris looked at him for a moment and then gave him a small smile. "Yeah I'd say we're friends." She said.

"Then I promise you that if things with Rory go sour because of this, you'll still have me. You can't get rid of me that easy." Jess said.

"Why have you suddenly had a change of heart? You wanted to keep this from her too. Why are you suddenly all for telling her?" Paris questioned.

Jess sighed. "I'm just...tired of letting Rory run my life." He admitted.

"What?" She said surprised.

"Once I left Stars Hollow, I always had this hope that we might get back together. It was stupid really and even when she was with that blonde dick at Yale..." He said.

"You mean Logan?" Paris said smirking slightly at his nickname for him.

"Yeah. I always thought we might work out. She came to my open day and we kissed and I was hoping this meant something. Then she turned round and said that even though Logan cheated on her, she still loved him." Jess told her.

"Ouch." Paris said quietly.

"From then on, I tried to move on from her but it's been hard. She was the first girl I really fell for." He admitted.

"Oh yeah, it was pretty obvious you'd fallen hard." Paris nodded. "And I knew she'd fallen for you as well."

"How?"

"That dinner we had at Rory's that one night. It was obvious she liked you. I even brought it up with her after you left."

"You did?" He said surprised.

"Yeah. She denied it but it was obvious." Paris shrugged.

"Anyway, she's moved on from me and I finally feel like I have as well. But I'm still letting her run her life. So what if we work and live together? Why should that be a big deal? Rory should be happy that you've got a job you like." He said.

"I guess..." She said hesitantly.

"And if she goes off on one, screw her!" Jess said.

"You seriously mean that? You don't care what she thinks or how she feels?" Paris asked surprised.

Jess sighed. "Of course I do. I don't want to upset her. I've never wanted that. But this is stupid. I'm hoping she won't mind, of course I'm hoping that but this is our life now. I mean, you don't want to leave Truncheon do you?"

"No! Of course not!" Paris said quickly.

"I get that you're worried. I get that this situation is a bit weird but Rory and I are ancient history. I don't see why she would care about what I'm doing anymore." He said. He sighed. "Look, I don't want to pressure you ok? I'm happy to tell her when you're ready."

"Ok." She said quietly.

"Ok." Jess said. He glanced at her for a moment before tearing his gaze away. "I should get going."

"Yeah me too."

"Have fun with Rory." He said.

"Yeah..uh..thanks." She said.

"You're going to drive yourself crazy." Jess said having finally made Luke take a break at the diner and sit down.

"Well what else am I going to do? This distracts me from the fact that my life's about to fall apart!" Luke exclaimed.

"You don't know that." Jess said.

"Yes I do." He said gruffly.

"Have you heard from her?" Jess asked.

"Only that she got there ok." He said.

"Well at least she rang you to let you know that." Jess tried to find a positive out of the situation. He sighed when Luke gave him a look. "Sorry."

Luke sighed. "I just...I was so happy when we got back together, you know? I really thought it would last forever this time."

"And it still might. You don't know what she's thinking." Jess said.

"And what do you think she's thinking? She's gone of to do 'Wild'. Not once all the time we've been together has she wanted to go camping or hiking or fishing." Luke said. "Why now?"

"Well you said her dad's passing hit her hard right?" Jess said.

"Yeah..."

"Well maybe it's to do with that. This might have nothing to do with you at all." He pointed out.

"Or it could be." Luke said. He sighed. "Look, I appreciate you coming and looking out for me or whatever but I'm ok. I'll be ok."

"Are you sure?" Jess said.

"If Lorelai wants to break up, there's nothing I can really do about it. I will be upset that she's giving up on us but I can't exactly stop her." He said. "You're right. I need to stop driving myself crazy over it. She'll be back when she's back and then...well, we'll see."

"Well I'm staying until she's back anyway." Jess said.

"Jess, you don't have to..." Luke sighed.

"No discussion." Jess said firmly.

Luke smiled slightly. "Well, thanks." He said sincerely.

"What are nephews for huh?" Jess said. "Right, I'm going to head out for a bit but I'll come back later and help you close if you want."

"Ok. Thanks." He said.

"See you later." Jess said before heading out. He rounded the corner and immediately bumped into Rory and Paris. "Oh, hey!" He said.

"Oh, hi Jess." Rory said surprised to see him. "I didn't know you were still here."

"I came today. Trying to cheer Luke up but I'm not sure how good a job I'm actually doing with that." He joked.

"Aw poor Luke!" Rory sighed. "I told mom she needed to talk to him but she insisted on this hiking trip. And you know what my mom's like when she has an idea in her head."

"Don't I just." Jess said.

"Oh, you remember Paris right?" She said. "I think you met her once or twice."

"I don't think anyone could forget Paris Geller." Jess said, smirking slightly. "It's nice to meet you again."

"Uh...yeah, you too." Paris said stifling a smirk.

"Well I'll leave you to it. Nice to see you again, Miss Geller." Jess said giving her a mock salute before walking off.

"What was that about?" Rory said confused.

"I don't know." Paris said quickly. "You used to date him. You tell me."

"Yeah...well that was a while ago now." Rory said glancing at Jess' retreating form.

"Do you..uh..do you think that you and he might...well, get back together at all?" Paris asked cautiously.

"What? No!" Rory laughed. "No way! Me and Jess? No!"

"Why is it so funny?" Paris said.

"Me and Jess? Are you serious? Sure, we might have been good in the past and I did...love him. But he was so unpredictable! I guess we were just never meant to be." She said. "I wish luck to anyone who does end up with him. I'm tempted to warn them not to get too attached in case he takes off without saying goodbye." She joked.

"That's a bit harsh!" Paris frowned.

"What?" Rory said taken aback by her friend's reaction.

"I just mean, you two seem like your friends again. You were both young when you were together. I just think it's a bit harsh to still hold a grudge." Paris shrugged.

"I'm not. I was just joking." Rory frowned. "What's up with you?"

Paris was quiet for a moment before she glanced up at her. "I need to tell you something." She said as they walked up to the gazebo and sat down.

"Ok..." Rory said.

Paris took a deep breath. "I haven't been exactly honest with you about my new job."

"This writing job you got? Are you not enjoying it?" She asked.

"No, I am. I just...it's just..." Paris stammered.

"What is it?" Rory frowned. "Paris?"

"It's at Truncheon." She finally blurted out.

"What?" Rory said shocked.

Paris let out a big breath. "I work at Truncheon with Jess and we all live together in an apartment." She admitted.

"You...you work at...with Jess?" Rory said trying to get her head round what she was saying. "But...you've had this job for three years!"

"I know." Paris said quietly.

"So you've been working and living with Jess for three years and you didn't think to say anything about it to me?" She exclaimed.

"I felt weird about it. I mean Jess is your..."

"Ex, yeah I know who Jess is, thanks." Rory snapped.

"I'm sorry." Paris said quietly. "We wanted to tell you. We just didn't know how."

"Are you dating?" Rory asked.

"What? No!" She said quickly.

"Well you tell me you're living together. What am I meant to think?"

"Yeah we live together but we also live with Chris and Matt." Paris said. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just..."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know how to and I felt like I was betraying you or something." She said. "It's just...I love the job. When I saw it advertised, I knew it was something I would enjoy. I didn't know it was Jess' work until I turned up for the interview."

"Well why didn't you leave when you found out?" Rory exclaimed.

"Because Chris and Matt made me stay for the interview. Jess was as shocked as I was. The next thing I know, they'd offered me a trial. I'm sorry, Rory. Please don't be mad." She said.

"Mad? I'm not mad." Rory said stiffly.

"You seem mad." Paris commented.

"I'm not mad!" She exclaimed. "I'm just...I'm trying to get my head round this. I think I need to go." She said getting up.

"Rory, please! I don't want to lose my best friend over this! It's not a big deal really. It's not like you and Jess are still mad at each other. You're friends again now." Paris begged. "Please! You're my best friend. I don't want to lose you over this."

"Well maybe you should have thought about that before you took this job with my ex and moved in with him and failed to tell me about it for three years!" Rory said angrily.

"Please Rory..." Paris said desperately.

"Just...leave me alone Paris. Don't come after me, don't call me. You call yourself a friend but you're just a backstabbing liar!" Rory said spitefully. "I can see why you could never make friends." She snapped before storming off leaving Paris standing there, close to tears.

"You! You weren't happy about me turning down your advances and me moving on from you that you decide to steal my best friend from me?" Rory exclaimed angrily as she stormed into Andrew's later that afternoon.

"And hello to you too." Jess said dryly.

"How could you? How could you not tell me?" She exclaimed.

"You mean during all those lovely catch ups we've had over the past three years?" He said sarcastically.

"Don't! Don't do that!"

"Do what?"

"Act like you're superior to me and that I'm being silly!" She said.

"Well you're the one causing the scene right now." Jess said. "I'm assuming this is about Paris."

"What else would it be about? Yes, this is about you hiding the fact that you've been working and living with my best friend for the last three years and you both fail to tell me about it!" She snapped.

Jess sighed. "Look, we wanted to tell you but we were worried about your reaction. I'm wondering why now." He said sarcastically.

"I can't believe you would hide this from me!" Rory shook her head.

"What's the big deal? Paris is great at the job and she's happy. Shouldn't you be happy for her?" Jess said.

"No! She lied to me!" Rory exclaimed.

"She was worried about how you would react. She was worried she would lose her best friend over this. She really respects your friendship. She's your best friend, Rory. Can't you two just talk about this?"

"Ex best friend." Rory said crossing her arms across her chest.

"What did you say to her?" Jess frowned, narrowing his eyes.

"Why do you care?" Rory retorted.

"Because she's a good friend." He said. "What did you say to her?" He repeated.

"Oh yeah, you're such good friends! You probably only gave her the job so you'd make me jealous! What, are you two going to be dating next and then once I get jealous and announce my undying love for you, you'll just dump her? Yeah, good friend." Rory said spitefully.

"You know what, screw you Rory!" Jess said angrily, his blood boiling.

"Excuse me?!" Rory exclaimed taken aback.

"You really don't know me at all, do you? Do you think I've just been pining for you over the years? Because you were the one to turn me down. I got the message loud and clear. And now because I'm working with your friend, your first thought is that I gave her the job to make you jealous? I thought friends were meant to believe in their friend's abilities. But no, apparently you think Paris got the job because I wanted you to be jealous, not because she is actually a great writer and is great at what she does." Jess said angrily.

"I..." Rory said but didn't know what to say.

Jess just shook his head. "I'm sorry we hid it from you. We should have told you from the beginning, you're right about that. But if you're going to make us feel guilty about it, forget it. And if you think Paris is a bad friend, she nearly quit the job because of you. You know she told me that you were the first real friend she ever had. She really respects you and she was terrified that this would ruin it."

"Then she should have considered my feelings and found a new job." Rory said stubbornly.

Jess laughed. "Sure. So she should just give up a job she's amazing at because you find it weird that she's working with me."

"Jess!" Rory exclaimed frustrated.

"Forget it, Rory. If you want to give up a good friend like Paris, that's up to you. But think about this. You want Paris to quit a job she loves and find another one, one that could take ages for her to find and in the meantime, she will not be getting an income and she will be homeless. If Paris is a bad friend, what sort of friend does that make you huh?" Jess said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go and find Paris." He said pushing past Rory and leaving the store.

"Go to hell!" Rory shouted.

"Right back at ya!" Jess snapped.

Paris wiped her eyes and she felt someone sit down next to her on the gazebo. "She hates me." She sniffed.

"She doesn't hate you. She's just...upset." Jess said.

"She hates me." Paris said giving him a look.

Jess sighed. "Well screw her then." He said.

"Jess..." She said not in the mood.

"I'm serious!" Jess said. "Rory's not happy unless everything goes her way. Well life doesn't work that way and she needs to understand that."

"She was my best friend, Jess." Paris said quietly.

"Oh I'm wounded, Paris. You mean I'm not your best friend?" Jess tried to lighten the mood.

"Jess..." She sighed.

Jess sighed. "Paris, you're an amazing friend ok? All through this, all you thought about was Rory. That's what friends do, think about their friends and have their happiness at their best interests. One thing Rory has failed at. If she thinks you're a bad friend, then she's an even worse one." He said.

"Rory's been a really good friend over the years..." Paris said quietly.

"I'm sorry." Jess said. "This is all my fault. I never should have given you the job. That way you and Rory would be fine and none of this would be happening right now."

Paris sighed and glanced at him. "No, it's not your fault. I should have just been honest with Rory straight away." She said. "I love the job and you've been a great friend to me. I wouldn't change anything." She said glancing at him. "Especially you."

"Well...that's good to know." Jess gave her a small smile, putting his arm round her. "The feeling's mutual by the way." He glanced down at her. "For the record, I think you're a pretty kickass friend." He said giving her a playful nudge.

Paris smiled slightly. "Thanks Jess." She said softly. "You know what?" She said after a while.

"What?"

"You're right. I've been so worried about Rory's reaction that I've sort of let that take over my life recently." Paris said.

"Yeah well, I've let it get to me as well." Jess admitted. He glanced at her. "I've let it stop me admitting how I really feel."

"What do you mean?" She asked confused.

"About you." He admitted.

"About...me?" Paris said surprised.

"Don't get me wrong, Chris and Matt have been great friends to me. They mean a lot to me but I never thought I'd feel a connection with someone again like I did with Rory years ago. I never thought it would be possible to feel so connected to someone again." Jess said, glancing at her. "And then you showed up. It can't just be me who has felt it? Even Chris and Matt has seen it..."

Paris blushed slightly. "I guess I was trying to not think about my feelings as well." She admitted.

"Because of Rory." Jess said.

"Because of Rory." She sighed.

"Well I think it's time to seize the day again. We shouldn't let Rory run our lives. If she wants to be mad at us, let her. That's her decision." He said. "But I'm feeling that if I don't kiss you right now, I'm going to explode." He said softly. "So...how do you feel about that?"

Paris glanced at him and blushed again. "I'm feeling you should kiss me."

"Yeah?" Jess said smirking slightly.

"Yeah." Paris said smiling slightly.

"Well, Miss Geller, your wish is my command." He joked as he leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips. He pulled away after a moment. "How was that?" He asked.

Paris smirked and leaned in to kiss him again. "I think it's about time." She said.

Little did they know that Rory was watching them from the doorway of Andrew's, totally shocked by what she was seeing.

So I hope you liked it! I'm really excited about where to take this so I hope you keep with me! Please keep the reviews coming as I love reading what you think! :) Thanks again for all your support! :)