Disclaimer: Of course I own Gilmore Girls! I also own Heroes and Death Cab for Cutie...
Thanks to Hallon, my lovely beta!
A/N: This is the second time I've written this, because FF is evil and didn't save it last time. Grr.
Sorry so much for the delay! I've had this written down on paper for at least a month, I just didn't have the time to type it up.
Congrats! We have hit 100 reviews by chapter five (125 actually ;D)! You should give yourselves a pat on the back loyal reviewers. ::pats own back as well::
Hurrah ::insert happy dance here:: Anyways, I was reading some fanfiction recently, old ones as not too many have been updated recently, and it made me want longer reviews to have conversations with my reviewers! So, feel free to do a longest reviews you want, babbling and ranting all you want. It's fun, I do it all the time! I'll even give you cookies for the longest reviews! (Yes, I am bribing you)
I for one, am a great babbler (is that a word?). One time, my friends wanted to see how much I could talk on for different subjects. I had been annoying them because I kept talking about GG, and the new episode of Heroes, and so on and so forth (I also made a bet once that I wouldn't talk about GG for a whole day, and you can probably guess how that turned out ; D). Anyways, I went on about silverware for 2 minutes, gingerale for 5 minutes, and I wouldn't stop talking about cheese so they just told me to shut up. They started scheming about gagging me and taping my mouth shut to keep me quiet, but it was soooo funny because I told them how my sister tried that once, and I went on for about 10 more minutes on THAT anecdote. Hehe. Anyone want to here the story? No? Well, anyways, skip ahead if you're too lazy or time-rushed to listen to me rant. There has been many a person who have tried to shut me up; it is virtually impossible unless I am really mad, or am shy around this person. Then, it's like hell has frozen over. Well, my sister got tired of it, and told me she wanted to "play kidnappers". I was 12 at the time, and while she was 8, she was an ingenius, scheming, little demon. I could've guessed what she was trying, but anyways, she tied me to a chair, stuffed paper towels in my mouth, and taped my mouth shut with duct tape. I managed to eat the paper towels yes, I'm weird and used my tongue to get rid of the tape. Strange huh? If I'm ever kidnapped, those people would have to go to extremes.
By the way...on to the story!!!
Chapter Three (eh?): Days Go By
"When are you going to let your parents know that you listen to the evil rock music? You're an American teenager, for God's sake." Rory said as she walked with Lane to school.
Lane sighed. "Rory, if my parents still get upset over the obscene portion size of American food, I seriously doubt I'm gonna make any inroads with Eminem."
The girls stopped by a sign that read "Teen Hayride" as Lane put on a jean jacket. Lane pointed to the sign. "I have to go to that."
"The hayride? You're kidding." Rory said in surprise.
"My parents set me up with the son of a business associate. He's gonna be a doctor." She said with false enthusiasm.
"How old is he?"
"Sixteen." Lane replied.
Rory raised an eyebrow. "So he's gonna be a doctor in a hundred years."
"Well, my parents like to plan ahead." She shrugged.
"God, you have to go to the hayride with him?"
Lane nodded. "And his older brother."
"Oh, now you're kidding."
"Koreans never joke about future doctors. So, I guess you're not going, huh?" The Korean girl asked.
"No, I'm still fuzzy on what's fun about sitting in the cold for two hours with a bundle of sticks up your butt." Rory said as they walked toward the school. Jess walked up to them and they both greeted him.
"Hey." The girls said. "On time for once," Rory noted.
"Luke made me come early." Jess said back with a shrug. He looked at Rory. "What's with the muumuu?"
"Ugh. Stop." Rory said, slightly disturbed at how her mother and best friend had similar thoughts. Jess chuckled and pulled a book out of his back pocket.
Rory entered the Independece kitchen to find a giggling Lorelai and Sookie.
"Hey."
"Hey," Lorelai responded, a huge grin on her face. "Hi," Sookie stifled a giggle.
"You're happy..." Rory suspiciously directed toward her mother.
"Yep." She nodded, as she glanced at Sookie and they held back a laugh.
"Did you do something slutty?"
Lorelai laughed. "I'm not that happy." She thrust out a bag for Rory. "Open it."
Rory took it with a raised eyebrow and pulled out a plaid skirt. "...I'm gonna be in a Brittney Spears video?" She joked in a fake preppy voice.
"You're going to Chilton!" Sookie burst.
Rory glanced at Lorelai, who nodded with a big smile. "You did it babe, you got in!"
"Oh my god..." Rory slowly started. "I'm going to Chilton?" Suddenly a thought hit her face. "You-didn't...with the principal, did you?"
"No hon, I was only joking," Lorelai laughed.
"Oh my god, I'm going to Chilton!" Rory squealed happily. "I've got to go call Lane and Jess!"
"Go hon," Lorelai smiled.
Rory hurried to the bridge and spotted Lane and Jess. She smiled and approached them. They turned to her with curious looks.
"Ok..." she bit her lip to keep herself from bursting to squeals. "Brace yourselves," she handed Lane the letter and Jess looked over her shoulder to read it.
"Oh my god..." Lane slowly said. "Oh my god!" She screamed, pulling Rory into a tight hug as the girls bounced up and down in laughter. Jess had taken the paper from Lane and was staring at it blankly.
"What do you think?" Rory asked him, looking exhilarated.
He glanced up, his face stoic, and nodded. "It's...great," he said, his voice emotionless. The two girls looked at him in confusion.
"I should be getting back to the diner. My break was only 10 minutes," he said, walking off without expression. Rory glanced back, watching his retreating back as Lane put her hand on her forehead and shook her head. Rory looked back to the paper in her hand and wrinkled her eyebrows together, confused.
Walking onto the bridge, Rory greeted its one lone occupant. "Hey." She said, a small smile on her face. "Twice on the bridge in one day."
"Yep." He monotonously said, without glancing up at her. It was only a few hours earlier that he'd heard the news.
"You ok?" She asked.
"Fine." He responded, his eyes focusing on his book.
Rory frowned, crossing her arms. "Back to monosyllabic man, are we?"
He shrugged and said nothing.
"Why are you mad?" She asked, her voice angry.
"I'm not mad," he grunted.
"Sure, because your attitude says otherwise."
"Hey, why don't you just go off to your snobby prep school or something!" He snapped.
"Excuse me!?" She howled.
"Go hang out with some damn preps and fucking rich boys; I'm sure you'll enjoy their company more than those shitholes at Stars Hollow High," he shouted.
"I can't believe this! You're mad because I finally got into the school I've been dreaming about!?" Rory yelled.
"No, I'm mad because you're abandoning us for some fucking school!"
"Hey, I didn't do anything wrong!"
"No, you just didn't do anything right!"
Rory was infuriated, her eyes fiery now. "Jerk!" She yelled, pushing hum into the water and marching away, running around the corner.
Jess bobbed up and opened his mouth to call something back, then pulled himself up. "Damnit!" He grumbled, smacking his head.
When the door opened at the Gilmore House, Jess knew that Lorelai knew.
"What did you do?" She asked.
"Who says I did something?" He replied.
"One, you look extremely guilty. I'd work on that if I were you. And two, you're dripping wet, which I can only assume means she pushed you into the lake." Lorelai raised an eyebrow.
He sighed. "Why does she always push me into the lake?"
"Just don't pick fights at the bridge anymore." Lorelai responded.
"Is she mad?"
"You mean did she kick over two chairs and slam the door so hard half the books fell out of the case? I'd say yes." She shook her head. "What did you say to her?"
He shrugged guiltily. "I just said some crap about her going to Chilton."
Loerlai gave an encouraging smile. "Just let her cool off for a day or two." She patted his shoulder. "It'll be fine kid." She said with a small smile.
He gave a slight nod. "Thanks." Right before he turned, they heard loud music blast.
"She's really mad." Jess muttered.
"Yep."
Lorelai entered the bedroom of her fuming daughter. She sat on Rory's bed, turning down the music.
"Hey," Lorelai brushed back her daughter's hair. "You ok?"
Rory nodded, her arms folded across her chest.
"I could literally see the steam coming out of your ears," Lorelai patted her daughter's head.
"He just made me so mad!"
"So you decided to push him into the lake?"
"How did you-"
"He just stopped by to talk. I told him he should let you cool down." Lorelai replied.
"Oh." Rory let out. She hmphed again. "I can't believe he said those things."
"What did he say?" Lorelai soothingly asked.
"How I'm abandoning them or something...I don't even know what he was yelling about." Rory wrinkled her eyebrows.
Lorelai wrapped her arm around her. She knew why Jess was acting the way he did.
Rory sighed and leaned her head against her mother's shoulder. Tears were coming out, but she didn't know why.
It was Monday already. Rory groaned and started to get up, letting out a sigh. She quickly changed and sat down on her bed, staring at her bookbag. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was 7:10, and decided to go up to see if her mom was ready yet.
"Mom!" She cried out as she entered Lorelai's room to see her mother's sleeping form still lying on the bed. Lorelai jumped and turned to her daughter.
"Wha- god!?" Lorelai cried out, glancing at Rory and turning back to her pillow.
"What are you doing?!" Rory shouted.
"Having a heart attack," Lorelai groaned, burying her face in the mattress once again.
"I thought you were up, it's 7:10!"
"What?"
"It's 7:10!" Rory yelled again. "It's 7:10!" She repeated.
"Stop..." Lorelai groaned at her daughter's pulling of her pillow. "It's a quarter to six."
"No, it's not." Rory replied.
"YES, it IS." Lorelai responded, pulling her sheets back. "I set the clock for a quarter to six, so it's..." Rory held the fuzzy clock up to her face. "-7:10! Damnit!"
"I can't be late on my first day of school. Do you know what happens to people when they're late on their first day?" Rory exclaimed as her mother jumped out of bed.
"It's shorter?" Lorelai scrambled around.
"For the rest of the year, they're labeled 'The late girl'." Rory crossed her arms, following the elder Gilmore around the room.
"Oh, so dramatic. Where's the bathroom?" Lorelai said, confused. Rory grabbed her shoulders and led her to the bathroom door.
"We have to go! What if there's traffic? Mom!" Her mom entered and Rory leaned against the wall next to the door.
"Ugh, I had this all planned, you know. I was gonna get up early. I was gonna get coffee. I was gonna take a shower. I was gonna pick up my clothes from the dry cleaners." Lorelai's muffled voice came through the bathroom door. It flew open. "Oh my god. My clothes."
"What?" Rory's face grew confused.
"I don't have any clean clothes." She walked into her bedroom, Rory following a step behind.
"It's 7:15." She huffed.
"All my nice things were dirty," Lorelai continued.
"It's 7:16."
"Oh my God, I was gonna wear my blue suit with the flippy skirt." She threw her hands up. "I look so great in the flippy skirt."
"It's 7:17." Rory grumbled.
"Okay, you know what, time lady? Why don't you go downstairs and warm up the car? That would be really super. Thank you." Her mother irritably said.
"Just hurry!" She cried out before heading downstairs.
"This sucks! This sucks! This sucks!" Lorelai yelled as she rummaged through her drawers.
"It's 7:18!" Rory called from below.
"Oh, for the love of God!" She glanced at the furry clock and threw it a glare. "This is the last time I buy anything just because it's furry."
"It's 7--" Rory started as her mom ran down the steps in a pink tye dye shirt and shorts.
"Don't even think of finishing that sentence!" She threw her hair into a ponytail and noticed Rory eyeing her. "What?"
"Nothing." Rory paused. "I just didn't know the rodeo was in town."
"All right, that's it. " Lorelai grabbed a frame. "I'm bringing the baby pictures."
"No! I'm sorry! I love the rodeo, the rodeo rules!" The younger Gilmore exclaimed after her mom.
As they drove out of Stars Hollow, Rory could barely hear her mother's rant. She glanced out the window as they passed Stars Hollow High. Two teens caught her eye out of the bunch; Lane and Jess were sitting on the steps of the school, talking. As the Jeep passed, Jess glanced at her, Lane turning and followed his gaze.
"...I'm analyzing all my shortcomings when all I really need to be doing is vowing to never ever make a plan ever again, which I'm doing now. Having, once again, been the innocent victim of my own stupid plans. God, I need some coffee..." Lorelai babbled.
Rory turned away.
Chilton. The word had a new meaning now.
The school's students had been less than welcoming. Her arms were becoming stiff with the loads of homework her teachers had thrown onto her. She was just looking forward to some coffee.
Rory walked out of the school, glancing around for her mother's car, but saw Jess standing in front of Luke's truck. She approached slowly.
Jess extended a hand that was holding a coffee cup. "Coffee?" He asked cautiously. Rory dropped all her things on the ground and surprised Jess by hugging him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder.
"I'm sorry," Jess said, feeling awkward at the proximity between them. Rory pulled away, her cheeks a slight pink.
"It's fine," she murmured, smiling faintly.
"Bad day?" Jess asked.
"You could say that," Rory sighed.
Jess held out the coffee again, and Rory took it sheepishly. She took a long sip before catching his eyes.
"Thanks. I needed that."
"Your carriage awaits," Jess said mockingly, smirking as he motioned to the run-down truck. Rory smiled and the two picked up her things.
"Thanks again," Rory said, kissing his cheek quickly as she scurried to the car. Jess felt a reluctant blush creep up his neck, and he shook it off.
"Luke does know you borrowed his truck, right?" Rory asked from the other side as she opened the passenger door.
"Uhh, sure, let's go with that," Jess smirked.
A/N: Thoughts? Feelings? This chapter wasn't my best, I know. I still hope to get reviews, because the next chapters (and I say chapters, because the snippet and the actual real chapter count) will be awesome. Trust me, I know. I'm the author, haha. Anyways, I LOVE reviews. Keep 'em coming. I'll try to update faster next time, I just had some really bad writer's block, where I didn't feel like writing any Fanfiction at all. ::sigh:: I'm getting over it. Hope this didn't disappoint any expectations though!