AN: Welcome to Chapter Two! Sorry about the wait. I've not been feeling well at all. Between working, being sick and practicing, I've been neglectful of other duties. Including writing part of this story which I love. I had trouble deciding which way I was going to go with this one, but I think I chose the right way. Its shorter, and I don't necessisarily (sp. I know) like it a lot, but I'm really trying to work hard on setting it up right. And clearing some things up how I thought they should have been dealt with during the show. Instead of you know, ignoring them.

And yeah, I still need a beta. e-mail me at xxfluteangelxx AT yahoo DOT com. Puh-lease?

Semi-Charmed Kind of Life
Chapter 2
Sink or Swim Gilmore, Sink or Swim

She stood there, unsure what was going to happen next. Even with all of the hustle in the store, the creeping tendency to think that all the attention was on her and Jess was starting to occur. She waited for him to speak, barely allowing herself breath.

"I was wondering when you were actually going to come inside." He said, looking at her, only slightly emotionless.

"W-wait? You knew I was out there?" Rory then looked behind her. The windows were a stained tint, but she could see outside. Feeling a slight flush approach, her face burned bright red. "Well, we know who the Darwin award goes to…" she muttered, trying to mask her embarrassment. After Jess didn't fill the awkward pause following her statement, she sighed and started again. "Coffee… talking maybe? If it isn't any trouble, that is".

"You know that even if it was, you're not really leaving me any choice. Who knows when the next time you storm down, all Rory Gilmore style, will be." Rory still couldn't read his emotion. He was acting very removed, and she didn't really like it.

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By the time they had gotten settled in at a table in the corner, coffee and all, the store had emptied out a bit. Brad had long since left, and the other guys who worked the store were cleaning up. A slight silence transpired before Rory managed to get up anything to say. "So… I see things are going well here."

"Yeah." He sipped his coffee. The shortness of his sentence disturbed Rory more than a bit.

Trying again, "So how've you been since we last talked?"

"You mean the conversation that went surprisingly like tonight is going?" He said, raising an eyebrow. After she looked down into the cup of coffee, he said, "Look Rory, I don't know what you want. I don't know what more I can give you at this point."

"Look… this, this isn't right. I wanted to call. And I wanted there to be less people here. There's people. And… I wanted to think before I came. I wanted to say something that didn't involve me rambling on like an idiot. But I didn't get to. I didn't get to write out what I came here to say. I was just here. After work. And now? Now you're making me feel like I'm wasting your time. You're the last person who I ever thought would make me feel like I'm just absorbing space." She took a deep breath and a drink of coffee. It had been a long time since an outburst like that. A very long time.

"I'm sorry if I had gotten the wrong impression. I'm just returning the favor of how I've been treated for oh, say, the past year." He shook his head. "What is it that is so imperative for you to come all the way out to Philly to say? Are you getting married? Does Kennedy junior want me at the wedding? 'Cause, gee, that seems hard to believe. Or are you already hitched and am I supposed to bail you out of a rut? Let's see… I know it's not about your mom because at this point I know more about her life than yours. So that covers Boy-toy, Mom, and you already said work. What could it be?" He bore his eyes into Rory's forehead. It was quiet for a moment, and Rory would look up from her cup. The one or two patrons that were still in the shop hushed themselves out of the store.

A few moments passed. Finally, after what seemed like a decade, Rory pulled her head up. Those piercing blue eyes were glistening. In a quiet voice, that she knew Jess could hear her hurt, "I came to tell you that I'm living here now. I'm working at the Daily News." Opening her wallet, she threw a few bills on the table as she stood up. "That should cover the coffee."

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'I will not let him see me cry' she repeated over and over in her head. No one got to see her cry, other than Lorelei. And, well, she wasn't here right now. After walking out of the store, she continued to take some deep breaths. She just kept walking. Towards her car. Towards the office. Away from Jess.

"Rory!" A voice called from behind her. She had to ignore it. It was very clear that he didn't want to deal with her. And she was fine with that. She just wanted to let him know she was here. She did that and now she was on her way.

"Rory! You're going to get hurt out here by yourself" He just kept walking, and chasing. And he was moving a lot faster than she was. Finally he caught up. He stepped around and in front of her. "Rory. Don't be stupid."

Snapping her head up, she looked at him. Every emotion, ranging from anger to pain, could be read in her eyes. "Jess I'm not discussing this anymore. You made it very clear how you feel about me. I'm just trying to get out of your way so that you don't have to… "bail me out of a rut" again. Isn't that how you put it?"

"Look Rory, what do you expect. Every time I've seen you since we broke up, I regret every decision that I've made. I never know what to think about you. You turn me down, and then… living with your grandparents and dating a schmuck? And you come to me to cheat on him. And I don't hear from you for a year and a half, until finally you call me, and you ask how the weather is. The goddamn weather?!? I figure you'd have something better to say to me if you really had any interest in talking to me."

"We broke up? Don't you mean you left and I didn't hear from you? Don't you mean tore me into pieces by never calling… or never speaking when you did call." A tear escaped from the dam that was holding them back Taking a breath and holding it in her throat, the brunette shook her head. "I didn't come here for this. I came to tell you that I'm living here. I didn't want to make it a big massive… thing. But apparently it is. I'll just stay out of your way…"

"God…. Rory…" He ran his fingers through his hair. "That's not…" He tried to finish, but she had already started walking away. He kept walking, keeping a far enough distance behind her so that she didn't feel stifled, but close enough so that nothing would happen to her.

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'It'd be really easy to sink. Just escape.'

As she lay in the tub, it was tempting to attempt to just sink into the water. But she couldn't do that. She know she couldn't. After he followed her back to her car, he turned away without saying anything. Even after all of these years, they still kept hurting each other with the inability to communicate.

Rory had waited until she reached home to cry, but the tears flooded out after she sunk into the bed. Her call reached Luke first who handed the phone to Lorelei before even saying anything. The pain of the emotional evening was fading, and now she was just amazed at how much both Jess and her own self had grown, but still kept the same tragic flaws. They were just better at masking them now. She still was unable to make a decision until it was too late, and he still let her get away.