Disclaimer: These characters are so not mine. This particular scenario is though.
Thank you to my reviewers:
gilmore15girl: I've always felt that there needs to be a good reason for people to act the way Jess has in the past. It feels good to explain it like I see it and its important that Rory (and us) know why he was a jerkface so we can believe that he's really different now.
IloveJoeL: Thank you. Here's more…
BreathTaker: Thank you and you're very welcome.
DevilPup9: Not two right now, but at least a nice long one is better than none, right?
H0ll3R: If I could give you a free pass into my brain I would, because I can see it playing out like a movie in my head.
luvablemilo: I'm glad you liked it, it was fun to write.
evangeline b: I'm so happy you enjoyed it, and I'm glad it inspired you with your fic!
Cila: Thanks, and here's your update.
LitGG1982: I am so happy you like this, and I really appreciate your great reviews!
brucasforever: Well, now you don't have to wait anymore…here's the next chapter!
RougueHoney: Thank you. Here's more…
Back in Town
It was an unseasonably warm day in early March, where the blue skies and gentle breeze could almost trick you into believing that winter had given up and spring was just around the corner. Rory was making the short walk from her house to Luke's to meet her mother for lunch, enjoying the comforting atmosphere of her hometown. Just as she crossed the street from the town square to the diner, she heard a car horn beep behind her. She turned around just as Jess pulled up next to her and rolled his window down.
"Remind me again why I came back to this town earlier than I absolutely had to?"
Rory laughed and reprimanded him, "Because you want to help Luke before the wedding, and you couldn't wait to see me again. That's why."
Jess rolled his eyes and pulled away to park in a space just down the block, quickly returning with a duffel bag slung over his shoulder to find Rory waiting for him. They entered the diner together and Jess approached the counter to address Luke.
"I'm not paying for a hotel, so I'm staying here," he said and he turned and made his way to the staircase.
Luke just stared after him at first, and then muttered, "Some things never change…" before turning his attention to Rory.
"Your mom called, she'll be here any minute…something about Michel harassing another guest."
"Thanks, Luke. I'll just have some coffee 'til she gets here."
"Sure thing. Grab a seat."
Rory took the table in the corner by the window just as Jess returned down the stairs.
"Hey, Luke, I'd like to at least get something for lunch first, but if you need help this afternoon or whatever, just let me know," Jess said as he brushed past the counter and headed over to the table where Rory was sitting.
Once again, Luke stared after Jess in disbelief, this time muttering, "And some things do change, after all…"
"Hey, Ror.Can I join you for lunch?"
Rory smiled up at Jess, "Sure. I'm meeting my mom, too, but she's been eager to see you again since I told her we've been talking."
Jess looked at Rory for a second before rolling his eyes.
"And maybe I should eat upstairs…"
"Jess!"
"No, hey. It's fine. I'm sure I'm going to get grilled at some point. I might as well get it over with now."
"Ha Ha. Now sit down."
Just then the bells on the diner door rang and Lorelai came bustling in.
"Luke! Coffee! Please, coffee, now! Ugh, please remind me to never plan another wedding or own another business ever again. Especially at the same time…"
Lorelai smiled as Luke held up a mug and gestured towards the table at the window. Assuming he meant Rory was waiting for her, she turned, ready to start in on the most recent 'Michel harassing a guest' story. She froze, however, when she saw Jess sitting at the table with Rory.
Attempting to replace the look of shock on her face with a smile, Lorelai greeted the two, "Hi, sweetie. Hi, Jess. So, you're back in town already, are you?"
Jess shifted a little uncomfortably in his chair, but did his best to respond civilly.
"Yeah." Remembering that he should probably attempt more than single syllable answers, he continued slowly, "I just got here. Rory said I could eat lunch with her, but if you wanted…"
"No. No, that's fine. Three's company, too, right?" Lorelai joked a bit awkwardly as she took the seat next to Rory.
There were several moments of slightly awkward silence until Luke came over with the girls' coffee and menus for them all to pretend to read.
Once Luke had taken their orders, however, the awkward silence settled in again. Rory glanced back and forth between her mother and Jess, wanting to make the situation more comfortable, but not sure how to do it without putting either Lorelai or Jess on the spot. Jess, deciding for Rory's sake to be brave, finally broke the silence.
"So, Lorelai…how are things…at the inn?"
Lorelai was caught off guard by being asked an actual question by Jess, but also decided for Rory's sake to attempt a civil conversation.
"Good. Things are going well."
Noticing the glare she was getting from Rory, Lorelai decided it would be best to elaborate a bit on her answer.
"Things are hectic, what with planning the wedding and all. Um…Michel did the funniest thing today…Okay, well, it wasn't really funny…especially for the guests he thought were spies from a rival inn in Massachusetts. He kept following them around and tried to confiscate their camera. He was also convinced the man's watch actually held a microphone, so picture him grabbing the man's arm and screaming at his wrist…It was funny…or, like I said, actually not funny…In fact, the police were called, so I guess it wasn't funny at all," Lorelai finished up her story lamely.
"I guess not," Jess replied.
Lorelai racked her brain for something to else to say to Jess. She couldn't let him show her up by being the only one to ask a polite question.
"So, Jess. Rory's told me a little about your book. That's really amazing. You, writing a book…although you always read a lot, maybe even more than Rory, so I guess it's not too surprising. How are things going with that?"
"Umm…it's been going fine."
Noticing Rory's raised eyebrow, Jess also decided it would be best to add more to his response.
"Well, they only printed a run of five hundred, but I got about fifty different bookstores in the tri-state area to carry it."
"Really? Wow, so you had to go around and convince all those bookstores to carry your book?"
"Yeah. A couple were really easy, especially in some of the smaller stores where you could talk directly to the owner. Other stores, though, were a bit of a challenge. I really had to pitch myself to them."
Lorelai couldn't help but be a little impressed by the tenacity and maturity it must have taken for him to get to the point where he was.
"That's really great, Jess. Do you think you'll write again?"
"Well, I already do. Who knows if I'll get another opportunity to publish, but I think I'll always want to write. That book will always be really important to me though. Getting that published, and knowing that other people will read what I've written…it's pretty cool."
"Has the book been selling well?"
"Here and there. A few of the stores ran out of the copies I gave them, and some others haven't sold any at all. I'm actually going to check up on a few of those stores while I'm in the area the next two weeks. I need to make sure they didn't hide me in the self-help section or something," Jess chuckled.
Lorelai actually laughed at that, and she couldn't resist sending Rory a meaningful look. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to give the kid another chance. Rory was smiling proudly, not only at Jess' accomplishment, but also at the actual conversation taking place between Lorelai and him. As their food arrived, Rory jumped into the conversation, too. Soon, the three were happily discussing recent events, Rory's classes at Yale, and plans for the rest of the week leading to the wedding. The awkwardness between Lorelai and Jess wasn't completely gone, but as long as they were talking, Rory could live with that for now.
After they finished their meal, Lorelai stood up and announced that she had to get back to the inn to make sure Michel wasn't getting arrested for harassing any more guests. As soon as she was gone, Luke came back to the table.
"Good, I thought she'd never leave. Hey Jess, Lane will be here any minute, but I have to pick up something for Lorelai. She can't know I'm going to pick something up, because if she does she'll harass me to no end to get me to tell her what it is, so will you cover for me for a bit? It's not too busy right now, but we've been getting a weird rush around 2 o'clock on Mondays lately, and I don't want to leave Lane as the lone server if the place is packed."
"No problem, Luke."
Jess looked at Rory expectantly.
"What are you up to this afternoon?"
"I'm going to head over to the Stamford paper and get some work done. With the wedding this Saturday, I really need to get my work done now instead of my usual work days on Thursday and Friday."
"Alright then, I guess I'll see you later?"
Rory surprised Jess with a strong hug as she said quietly in his ear, "Thank you so much for being nice with my mom. I'm so thrilled you guys were actually talking."
Jess tried his best to brush it off, saying "It was nothing. I figured everything would be easier if I keep her from hating me."
Rory could see in Jess' eyes that he was pleased lunch had gone well, and that he was happy to be in Lorelai's good graces, but she decided to let him keep his tough guy wall up for the moment if he wanted to by not calling him on it.
"Rory! Hello?"
Rory turned to see Lane behind her, smiling and shooting curious glances over Rory's shoulder at Jess.
"Hi Jess," Lane called tentatively, before grabbing Rory by the arm and pulling her off the side.
Jess waved slightly, and then turned to start clearing the table they had just eaten at. Lane made sure he was out of earshot before grilling Rory.
"Jess is here? Already? The wedding isn't until Saturday."
"Well, he's here to help out…and visit."
"Visit? Visit who?...you! Jess is here to visit you! Are you guys back together," Lane hissed excitedly, trying to keep her voice down.
"No, yes, kinda. I'm not really sure, actually. I mean, we've been talking on the phone every night for a month now, and he's made it pretty clear he likes me and all that…we're just kind of in a transitional stage right now."
"A transitional stage?"
"Well, yeah. We may talk all the time, but we've only seen each other once before today since we started talking again. We still have a bunch of things to figure out."
Hmmm…okay, I can buy that, I guess. Soo…"
"So, what?"
"So, he's been nice? And not remotely jerk-like, right? Because as your best friend…"
"No, Lane, he's been really wonderful. Amazing even. Please, just give him another chance, for me?"
"If you say so…," Lane responded warily while eying Jess, who was currently taking an order from Kirk at the counter.
"I do! Just be nice, and seriously…I really like him Lane, so I want you two to get along. I have to head to work now, but I'll be sure to see you later or tomorrow or something."
Rory was beginning to wonder how many people she was going to have to convince that Jess wasn't a little hoodlum anymore. She sighed, knowing that in this town, the answer was 'everyone'.
"Okay, just one more thing," Lane lowered her voice conspiratorially, "Lorelai's bachelorette party is still on for Thursday, right?"
"Right, and spread the word carefully. Ms. Patty's at 9. I've gotta go. Bye Lane."
Rory glanced around the diner until she saw Jess. He was headed her way with a to-go cup in his hand.
"Here's some coffee for the road. Good luck at work. I'll see you later." He gave her a kiss on the cheek and headed back to work.
Rory smiled, took the coffee, and thanked Jess as she headed out the door. Lane watched the whole exchange and Jess as he watched Rory leave, a content smile on his face. She nodded her head in satisfaction, and made up her mind to give Jess another chance, after all.
Later that night, Rory was sitting in her room at home, rereading Anna Karenina for the ninth time. She was having trouble concentrating though, so she pulled out her cell phone to call Jess.
"Hello?"
"Hi Jess."
"What's up?"
"Not much actually. I've justgotten so used to talking to you every night that it feels like I'm missing something if I don't."
"Aww. Well, you do realize that we're in the same town, like, a tenth of a mile away from each other, don't you?"
"Well, yeah…but I like our phone conversations. Besides, I want to hear how your first day back in Stars Hollow went."
"Oh boy. This town is a loony bin for sure. Would you believe that Taylor stormed into the diner when he saw me?"
"He did? Why?"
"Well, he gave me a stern talking-to about how he wouldn't put up with any shenanigans now that I was back in town."
"He didn't!"
"He did. He also wanted to make it perfectly clear that he was watching me, so I shouldn't get any fancy ideas. His words, not mine. I had to kindly remind him that it's been years since I did anything to inspire his wrath, so he should just let me be for now."
"Yikes."
"No, 'yikes' was when Dean came in to get an order for Tom and his guys. You should've seen his face when he saw me behind the counter. He was so rude even Lane stepped in to help get rid of him."
"Oh," Rory commented a bit sadly. She didn't like the idea of Jess seeing Dean.
"What's the matter? I can't tell by your voice you're not too thrilled right now."
"Oh, it's nothing really. It's just weird thinking of you seeing him now. Especially since we're…well, since you know about…ugh, I don't know. It's just weird."
"Hey Ror, don't worry about it too much, okay? I don't like him, I never did, but it doesn't have to be a big deal. If he wants to come in the diner and cause a scene, that's his problem. I have better things to do."
"I get it. I'm sorry he was bothering you though."
"Me too. Anyway, believe it or not, I'm not finished yet."
"You're not?"
"Nope. After Dean left, Kirk inquired as to whether I might need his services as bodyguard while I'm in town. Just in case, of course. Although, I saw Taylor talking to him, so I'm pretty sure the job woulve been baby-sitter and not bodyguard. And, just for good measure, and because the entire town needs to get in on harassing me, Babette and Miss Patty came in for coffee and stayed almost two hours, staring at me and talking. It was creepy."
"Awww…wow. Jess, I had no idea the town would do this to you. Well, actually, I had some idea, because this is Stars Hollow, but I'd hoped they would let you off the hook easier."
"Well, it's what you get with a crack-pot town like this."
"I guess."
"But enough about me and my day in this insane asylum masquerading as a town. How was your day?"
"It was nothing special. I went in to the paper, got a little work done. I came home and helped mom with a million details for the wedding. She's freaking out that it's only a few days away…in a good way, but still freaking out."
Rory was silent for a few seconds, and Jess could tell something was on her mind.
"What is it, Ror?"
"Well…it's just that last night, and tonight, I've come home and caught my mom in my room, in her wedding dress, standing in front of the mirror. I mean fully dressed, with shoes and veil and everything."
"Why is she in your room?"
"Because she can hide it from Luke in here."
"Weird."
"Well, no…it's kinda cute actually. It reminds me of a story my grandma told once about how she wore her wedding dress every night for a week before her wedding. It's how she knew she was really in love. I think that story is part of the reason mom realized she wasn't really in love with Max. But now, with Luke…"
"What?"
"It's really happening. He and Mom are so happy together, and Luke is so great, it's just a really nice feeling. You're so lucky to have Luke as family, and now I'm going to also."
"Let's not bring up the fact that after Saturday you and I are going to be related. Cousins, in fact. Too creepy."
"Yeah, in fact, I'd be happy if we never mentioned that again."
"Deal."
"New topic?"
"New topic."
"Lane asked me today if we were together."
"Oh? That type of new topic…"
"Yeah, and I wasn't really sure what to tell her…"
"Oh, really? Well, what did you end up saying?"
"That we were in a transitional period."
"A transitional period?" Jess couldn't help but laugh. "I suppose that's accurate enough."
"Okay, then. But what does it mean? Because I don't really know what that means, even if I'm the one who came up with the term."
Jess paused a moment to gather his thoughts before continuing.
"You like me, right?"
"Yes."
"You know I like you, right?"
"Yes."
"Is there any one else you want to see right now?"
"No!"
"Do you wish there was someone else?"
"What! No, of course not! Jess…"
"…Well, me neither."
"Oh."
"So, let's just keep figuring 'us' out, and not worry so much about exactly what that means. Is that okay with you?"
"So there is an 'us' to figure out?"
Jess smiled a bit sheepishly, and was glad no one was around to see him.
"Yes."
"Okay, I can live with that. For now at least…I am going to…uh, want more, um, definition than that…at some point."
"Me too."
"Good."
"Good."
"Good."
"Have we officially run out of things to say to each other?" Jess teased.
"Ha. No. I guess I'm just tired."
"You should go to sleep then."
"I suppose."
"Goodnight Rory."
"Goodnight Jess."
Rory hung up her phone and crawled underneath her covers, a 'warm and fuzzies' feeling spreading through her at the thought of having an 'us' with Jess. This was a good feeling, a very good feeling indeed.
More coming soon!
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