The All-American Reject
By stella maynard
Disclaimer: Alas, no. I do not own anything. I'm heartbroken, really.
Author's Note: Thanks for all your support, guys! I'm sorry this has taken so long to get up, but school gets in the way of things. But do not fret, I've been thinking about this story all the time, so I have basic story lines and scenes planned out already, it's just a matter of putting them down on paper. And I promise once winter break comes around, I will devote the majority of my free time to this story so I'll have things to update. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter.
Chapter 4: It's Beginning to Get to Me
Jess sat on the Gilmore's couch while Rory leaned against him, a copy of The Red Pony lay ignored in her hands. He was doing his best to read Cry, the Beloved Country, but Lorelai's recount of her latest dream persisted in breaking his concentration.
"And then," she narrated, "I floated down the staircase and found myself surrounded by many, many admirers and buggage." She paused, looking confused.
Rory raised her eyebrows and even Jess gave up his pretence of reading to repeat, "Buggage?"
Lorelai blinked, trying to clear her thoughts. "I think I started to say 'bags' or 'baggage' or something," she explained slowly, seeming to be working out what had happened herself, "but I switched to 'luggage.' And then I just squished the two together."
Jess rolled his eyes and returned to his book while Lorelai continued with her story.
After twenty minutes Jess glanced at his watch and stood up. He said to Rory, "I've got to go now."
He gave a nod to Lorelai, who was still sprawled across the arm chair facing the couch, before heading towards the front door. Rory stood up and followed him.
He turned to his girlfriend at the door as he put on his jacket. She asked him, "Are we doing anything tonight?"
"Can't," Jess replied. "I've got things to do."
Rory seemed to be waiting for an explanation but, when none appeared, she said quietly, "Oh."
Jess looked at her. "How about tomorrow?"
"Okay," she nodded.
He gave her a kiss and walked out the door.
Later that night, Jess pulled into a parking spot near the school. He opened the car's trunk and threw in that stupid blue vest, the nauseatingly cheerful nametag still attached. He had a double shift tomorrow, which meant he'd have to skip school again. Whatever. If he kept up with his hours, he thought he had a good shot at being named "Employee of the Month." He'd get his picture up on the wall and, of course, the bonus.
He needed that money so he could take Rory to prom. God, she and Lane had been talking about that dance forever. But he'd already promised to take her. She could make him do nearly anything. When she'd told him of her plans, she'd been so nervous. There was doubt in her eyes, she was fidgeting with her hands, and she was worrying her lip. What she did to him without even knowing it…he had agreed without a thought. Now, he needed money. And that's where Wal-Mart came in. He hated it there, but at least he didn't have to talk to anyone and the pay was decent.
After Jess closed the trunk, he began to walk back to the diner. About a block away, he saw Rory, Lane, and Dean stepping out from his destination. Though he couldn't hear what they were saying, he could tell they'd been laughing and talking. A couple of minutes later, Dean went his separate way while the two girls headed to Lane's home. Glowering in Dean's general direction, Jess changed his intentions of heading home and went to the park instead.
When he reached the bridge where he had so many memories with Rory, he sat down and pulled out an almost new pack of cigarettes that he had bought over a week ago. Putting one in his mouth, he lit it up and inhaled. As he slowly let the smoke escape, he felt his nerves calming down. True, he still wanted to beat Dean to a pulp, but he had stopped imagining particularly violent methods that would likely end in the imbecile's death and his ending up in jail for twenty to life. He was legally considered an adult after all. Best be prudent. Surrounded in a smoky haze, he began to dream of ways to make the bag boy disappear.
His car was still missing. Ever since the stupid ceremony where he had been given the bonus check and where Luke had surprisingly shown up, Jess had no ways of getting to work in Wal-Mart. It was too far to walk and Luke wouldn't let him use his truck and of course nobody in Stars Hollow who had a car trusted him enough to let him use theirs. So he was stuck.
The only good that came out of this situation was he could spend more time with Rory. He had tried to make up for his lack of being around by getting them tickets to a concert where the Distillers were playing in Hartford. He couldn't find her for a while, but he finally discovered her leaving one of Dean's hockey games. He didn't say anything to her about her location, but it had been gnawing at the back of his mind ever since.
Jess was paying for a video at the store when he saw Rory and Lane walking by. After taking his change, he walked out and called, "Hey! I got the video for tonight."
Rory stopped. "What'd you get?"
He held up the tape. "Almost Famous."
"No, not again," Rory complained.
"I can't help it, I'm addicted."
Rory sighed. "Fine, but if I'm watching Kate Hudson commit suicide again, we're ordering Indian food."
Jess groaned. "Come on."
"Hey, last night when we watched Ed Wood, we ate burgers like you wanted," she countered.
"Fine," Jess replied. "Tonight, Indian food. But tomorrow, Saturday Night Fever and Thai food. And we'll have to watch John Travolta at my place because we'll have to burn your house down to get rid of the smell."
Lane grinned. "That's so cute. You guys are like an old, agoraphobic couple."
Jess smirked, slightly embarrassed. He had forgotten that she was there. "Thank you very much."
Lane left with a quick goodbye. Jess put his arm around Rory's waist and she played with his hand as they walked.
"So," Jess drawled. "It's been a few days since you decided. You still going to Yale?"
Rory nodded. "Yep. It's got all the classes I want, some really great professors, and, you know, as an added bonus, it's really close to here."
"Twenty-two point eight miles," he supplied.
Rory paused. "What? How'd you know that?"
"Do you Yahoo?"
"You looked it up," she stated, her tone slightly amazed.
"Yeah."
"You looked it up," she repeated teasingly.
"I hit a couple of buttons on a computer, it's no big deal," Jess countered, his tone defensive.
"You looked it up."
"I was bored! There was nothing on TV. I had nothing better to do, that's it!"
"You looked it up."
He pulled her into him and placed a kiss on the top of her head, deciding not to say anything else about the subject. He gently tugged her hair. He loved her hair. He always had a thing for long hair.
"What about you?" she asked. "Have you decided where you're going next year?"
He sighed. "Rory, I told you," he said patiently. "Once I graduate, I'm done. That's it. Call it torture, call it university. It's not for me. Arts and crafts are all I need. I'll take calligraphy and make a fake degree. Would that make you happy?"
She laughed first, but then replied, "You're going to have to stop dancing through life at some point, Jess. Those who don't try never look foolish, but nobody really cares what they think. Even celebrities with three brain cells are attached to some kind of cause. Look at Richard Gere or Tom Cruise. Even Jessica Simpson is fighting acne with Proactiv."
Jess glanced at her. "First of all, I don't dance, literally or figuratively speaking. And are you comparing me to those madmen? That's almost worse than telling me I'm like Bible Boy and those other trust fund babies at your school."
"Don't worry," she giggled. "You don't have a BMW or a Porsche. Actually, you don't have a car at all at the moment, not to mention several designer ones, one for each day of the week."
"Don't remind me," Jess groaned. He opened the door to the diner. "After you."
Rory grinned as she passed him. "Thank you, kind sir."
She sat on a stool at the counter while Jess walked behind it and pulled out a mug and placed it in front of her, filling it to the brim with coffee. She pulled it eagerly to her and inhaled deeply. A satisfied smile slowly made its way onto her face as her eyes fluttered shut. Jess watched her with an amused look on his face.
"Are you done with your dirty dreams involving you and coffee?" he queried.
Her eyes snapped open and a slight blush made its way onto her cheeks. "There's nothing wrong with fantasizing about coffee," she defended.
"It isn't healthy. You should be thinking about other things." He leaned forward and gave her a slow, gentle kiss.
When he pulled away, Rory's face was completely red. Smirking, he walked over to the register to help Kirk. When he returned, Rory seemed calmer, although she wouldn't quite meet his eyes.
"So what are your plans this afternoon?" he asked her.
Sighing, she answered, "Studying. I have a chemistry test tomorrow, a French quiz the next day, and, next Monday, I've got to give another speech to give with Paris, and she wants to go over it tomorrow during lunch."
"That school really doesn't believe in giving you guys a life, does it?"
"Our life consists of enriching our brains and, for social purposes, I could always join the Puffs," she stated, rolling her eyes slightly at the last word.
Jess looked at her. "Like the tissues?"
She burst into a laugh. "No, it's like the high school version of a sorority. They asked me to join sophomore year and I would've if we hadn't been caught in the Headmaster's office right before ringing the bell."
"What are you talking about? I'd never pictured you as a sorority girl."
"Yeah, right. Maybe Paris, Lane, and I can start our own sorority. We'll be the Gamma Gamma Gammas."
"Why?"
"You know how during the American Revolution they said 1777 meant the gallows? Well, a capital gamma is almost the same thing, just backwards. We'll be the most sarcastic, unpleasant sorority girls you'll ever meet."
Jess smirked. "Paris, at least. She bit my head off when I told her I thought that Austen used too many commas. So back to these Puffs."
"Oh, yeah. Headmaster Charleston didn't like my lack of a social life because I would listen to music and read during lunch and he had me talk to the school shrink. So I sat down with this random group of girls during lunch. By the way, one of the girl's name was Lem, as in Lemon. And they asked me to join and I pretty much had to what with the school principal watching me. So we broke into his office one night where we were supposed to pledge and ring this bell. Just as I was reciting the most idiotic pledge poem ever, the headmaster pops up and threatens all of us with detention and possible suspension. And then I was free to go and enjoy my books during lunch."
Jess, who had turned away for a while, but indicating that Rory should continue with her story, came back with a plate of fries. His eyebrows rose, a small smirk at his mouth. "Huh. You were going to be in a sorority."
Rory grinned and pointed a fry at him threateningly. "Watch it, mister, or I'll sic Paris on you."
"So, studying?"
"Studying," she nodded. "Not all of us can have memories like Cam Jensen."
Jess ran a hand through his gelled hair. "Ok, I'm feeling stupid today. Who's Cam Jensen?"
"Don't worry, Jess," she consoled, her tone mocking. "Not everyone can understand my pop culture references. I'm just more talented that way." She grinned when he rolled his eyes before continuing, "Seriously, you should see my grandmother at Friday night dinners with me and my mom. She never knows what's going on. Cam Jensen is a pre-teen detective with a photographic memory. She'd see something, concentrate on it, say 'Click!'" Rory demonstrated. "And she'd be able to remember everything in perfect detail. I wish I could do that," she sighed.
Jess watched her as she sipped her coffee. "Yeah, ok. You don't even need to go to classes to get those A's. Why bother?"
"Because I like school and am not to keen on talking with that guidance counselor again. I haven't been called in to see her since my Puff days and I plan on keeping it that way. You haven't been told to come visit yours in a while?"
"Nope," he lied easily. "Everything's great. I'm brilliant." His smirk appeared again.
Rory rolled her eyes. "All right, Einstein. I've gotta go. You're gonna get the prom tickets soon?"
"Jeez. Stop worrying so much. I'll get them sometime this week. They've only been on sale since Monday. It's Wednesday now in case you've forgotten. They're gonna be selling them forever."
She scrunched up her nose a little. "Okay, I'm sorry. I'm just so excited. Lane and I've been pla-"
"Planning this since second grade," Jess interrupted her. "I know. Don't worry." He gave her a quick kiss. "Go study," he instructed sternly.
"Sir, yes, sir," Rory saluted, standing up. She walked to the door, giving him a grin over her shoulder before she left. Jess stared at where she had been long after she'd disappeared.
Soundtrack:
"It's Beginning to Get to Me" by Snow Patrol; "Shooting Stars" by Cauterize; "Extraordinary Girl" by Green Day; "I Melt with You" by Bowling for Soup or I don't remember who sang it first; "I'd Do Anything" by Simple PlanReferences: The Red Pony by John Steinbeck; Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan ; The Distillers; Almost Famous; Ed Wood; Saturday Night Fever; "College Kids" by Relient K; "Dancing Through Life" by the cast of Wicked (I saw this recently and…wow. If you like musicals, I seriously recommend this one. I detest The Wizard of Oz, I mean really hate it. If I ever see it on TV, I change the channel immediately. The Munchkins, Dorothy's voice, the Lion, the wizard, everything about this movie except Toto annoys me. Yet I loved this play and it made me want to read the books by Gregory Maguire and watch the movie one last final time to catch all the references made in the play.); Proactiv; BMW; Porsche; Kleenex brand Puffs tissues; Cam Jensen (books by David Adler)
Author's Note: Lucy, I'm home! Haha, sorry about that, I couldn't resist. Anyway, a few things. I know this chapter is a fairly long time in coming but this is the first time I've had a free moment in a while. And it'll be my last one for the next two weeks and then…winter break! Four weeks of relaxation, plus other stuff, which I'm choosing to ignore at the moment. So you should have another chapter I hope in not too long. But I got this one out before December; that counts for something right?
Anyway, I'm not too happy with my soundtrack but I like having one every chapter. Please, suggestions. I know this chapter is still short, but it's setting the scene for the next chapter – Keg! Max! Yes, the time has finally arrived.
I'm excited, hehe. I've been thinking about this story for a long time and I have so many random scenes with all the references my heart desires written out and I can't wait to use them later. I'm also excited that when I go home, I get to drive again. My car is a little silver Prius, just like Rory. What a coinky-dink! (If you can't tell, I'm really, really excited that I'm not doing work right now. Last night I got 9 hours of sleep, which was more than the two nights before that combined. I love all-nighters!) So please review, tell me I'm crazy, give me some song choices, let me know about your life, constructive criticism, whatever you like! I'll see you soon!