"Mom, there's nothing go on between Jess and me." Rory defended. "He's just so weird you know? I just do better if I ignore him all the time."

Lorelai shook her head. "Well, maybe you feel that way about him, but how does he feel about you?"

"What do you mean?" Rory asked, although she clearly understood her mother.

"Rory, we both know that Jess obviously has feelings for you. He's not the best at showing them, but they're still there."

Rory was in near shock. She had no idea that Lorelai was so informative of the situation between her and Jess.

"What am I supposed to do?" Rory inquired. "I've tried telling him a hundred times… he won't listen to logic or reasoning."

Lorelai sighed. "Luke and I were afraid of this… We kind of thought it might happen."

"So you're prepared for it then?" Rory asked hopefully. "There's a solution… a plan?"

"Not exactly." Lorelai replied regretfully. "If you'd like me to talk with Luke… I'm sure he could straighten things out with Jess."

"I don't want to cause Jess and Luke anymore problems."

"Well, that's…. understandable." Lorelai agreed. "But honey, we can't just ignore this."

"Eventually, he'll just stop, right? The feelings will pass on to some other girl and he'll forget about me."

"Maybe." Lorelai replied a little unsure herself. "But you know what, being mean to Jess… ignoring his feelings… pretending he's some horrible monster, none of that is going to make anything better. Jess is a part of this family now and even though things have gotten off to a rocky start, he'll be a member of this family for the rest of his life."

Rory inhaled deeply. "You're right." She smiled. "I guess I have been acting immature about everything."

"Well, it's not been the most normal circumstances." Lorelai replied. "Just put a little more effort into making it better. Okay?"

"Okay." Rory leaned across the table and hugged her mom. "I have to get going… I hear there's a new shipment of books coming in today at the bookstore and I'm hoping to make a few bargains."

"Hey, make a few bargains for me too." Lorelai called after her daughter.

Rory's trip to the bookstore proved successful. She'd found three new books that she was very excited about reading and even picked up a paperback novel she was sure Lorelai would keep by her bedside. As she walked out of the bookstore, Rory spotted Dean walking out of Taylor's market. A large smile streaked along her face as she crossed the street. She was hoping she'd "casually" bump into him today and perhaps make plans for another date.

"Hey." Rory greeted as she came closer. "What's up?"

Dean turned around and stared at Rory. His heart was still aching from the story he'd heard a few hours before.

"Hey." Dean finally replied.

"Been shopping at Taylor's?" Rory asked.

"No." Dean answered. "I was…" He lowered his eyes. "I was applying for a job."

"A job? Cool." Rory could tell something was different. Dean seemed agitated and not his usual charming self. "Well, good luck. I hope you get it."

"Thanks." Dean eyed Rory's neck and noticed that she wasn't wearing his necklace. He suddenly felt ashamed and embarrassed. "I got to go."

"Wait." Rory halted. "Um… I thought maybe…. Well, see we have a movie night at our house. If you're not busy tonight…"

"I can't." Dean replied. He turned and headed down the sidewalk.

Rory stood completely still and watched the boy walk away. What had she done? It looked as if her first crush and romance was already over and she didn't even know why.

Jess opened the door to the house. His mind had cleared a lot since the early morning and now found himself desiring a nap. Lorelai walked through the kitchen when she heard the door open.

"What on earth could you possibly be doing before 9:00 am on a Sunday morning? And don't say 5:00 am mass." Lorelai folded her arms.

"A walk." Jess replied.

"A walk?"

"Yes, a walk."

"Please, don' lie." Lorelai replied. "If you remember, I'm the only one who has ever taken your side since you've been here."

Jess rolled his eyes. "Look, I'm not lying. I took a walk to clear my head."

"Jess…"

"What?!" Jess yelled in frustration. "You think I don't have things that I need to sort out? If you remember, Lorelai, my mom passed away a few months ago. And I haven't laid eyes on my dad since I was in diapers! My life isn't as sweet as everyone else's in this town."

"Oh, and you think my life has been one gigantic cube of sugar?" Lorelai asked. "Trying losing two mothers, Jess. Try having a kid at sixteen and the father's too irresponsible and conceited to even care. Try moving to a completely different country just to get a fresh start and then losing yet another mother figure." Lorelai's voice became higher and higher. "You're not the only one who has problems in life. Everyone… Everyone has problems, Jess." Lorelai paused. "But you know what, my life is good… I have a wonderful daughter and now I have a wonderful husband. And I know that somewhere, deep down, I have a wonderful nephew as well."

Jess' face soured. "I'm not your nephew." He said bitterly. "I'm not anything to you."

"Of course you are." Lorelai said soft, yet assertively.

The front door opened and slammed quickly. Jess and Lorelai both looked to see Rory run through the house and dash into her bedroom.

"Rory?" Lorelai asked alarmed. She immediately followed after her daughter.

Rory buried her head into her pillows. It had taken all of her strength to hold back her tears until she reached her bedroom. She couldn't figure out how it was possible to hurt so much in such a short amount of time. But what she didn't understand even more was why Dean acted the way he did.

"Rory, what's wrong?" Lorelai asked as she stepped into Rory's room. "Sweetie…"

Rory raised from the bed and wiped her eyes. "I don't think Dean likes me anymore." She sniffled.

"What?" Lorelai asked shocked. "Why?"

"I just saw him… and he acted awful. Like he couldn't even stand to look at me."

Jess walked over to Rory's door and listened. He was suddenly feeling remorse for what he had done. It wasn't as pleasing as he had expected. He had no idea that Rory actually cared that much about Dean. Suddenly, his hurt and humiliation didn't seem to compare to what Rory was feeling.

"Did he say anything? What happened?" Lorelai tried to sooth the young girl.

"I asked him to come over and watch a movie and he said no and walked away…"

"Well… that doesn't have to mean he doesn't like you anymore."

"It was the look mom." Rory sniffled again. "If you could have only seen the look on his face… he looked so angry."

"There must be a reason, sweetie…. Did you do or say something that might have came out the wrong way?"

"No." Rory pouted. "I can't think of any reason why…" Her voice began to break. "I didn't realized I liked him so much…. Why did I let myself like him so much?" Rory fell forward into Lorelai's arms.