Rory nearly had a seizure. No way had she just seen what she thought she saw. It had been so long, and she had almost forgotten all about it. Almost.

It was Jess. He was back.

She saw him sitting on her favorite bench, right off of the town square, reading a book, making notes in the margins, just as she always did at this time of the day. She stopped in her tracks and her mind went all the way back to that fateful day when she fell out of the tree, years ago. Seeing him now was almost like something out of a dream. She remembered his smile, his big brown eyes, so deep and full of light.

Suddenly Rory remembered where she was. She turned and ran in the opposite direction, not looking back.

Jess looked up. He felt like someone had been watching him, but no one was even paying attention to him. Glancing around cautiously, he regarded the town with a look of distaste. Ever since he had left, years ago, he felt a special kind of loathing for the town that had so rudely assumed him to be at fault for the damage done to their little princess. More like rag doll, he thought, remembering how simple and devoted she had been that day at the inn. She had hardly given him any space, following him around, shyly talking to him as though she were doubting her every word and her ability to speak. Jess went back to his book, but he could no longer concentrate. He felt as though every eye in the town was on him, waiting once again for him to screw everything up. He got up and went back to Luke's.

Meanwhile, Rory was standing on Lane's porch, out of breath. She was impatient for lane to get home. She often found it inconvenient to go to a different high school than her best friend, but never more so than at this very moment.

Ever since Rory had started going to Chilton, her relationship with Lane had been a little different. They couldn't see each other as often, and their schedules were usually conflicting. Sometimes they didn't even get the same breaks. They had decided it was a conspiracy against them, but they got through it okay.

But now Rory needed to confide in Lane, and only Lane. She was the only one Rory had ever told about her crush on Jess, from that one day back when she was so much younger. She hadn't even told Lorelei, mostly because of how angry Lorelei had been with Jess. But Lane understood. She knew all too well the plight of the disapproving mother.

"Lane! Finally, you're home! We absolutely need to talk, right now. Are you busy?" Rory was practically desperate.

Lane smiled. "Come on Rory, I've always got time for you. Let's go to my room, I went shopping yesterday." She gave Rory a knowing look.

Rory smiled. Lane going shopping meant that there would be lots of goodies under the floorboards.

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"And now I don't know what to do anymore! What do you think? Am I crazy for wanting to talk to him again?" Rory looked Lane with her sad blue eyes, hoping that Lane would give her something, anything to help her situation.

"Rory, I think you're forgetting a few things." Lane gave her a look that clearly said that she was an idiot.

"Oh yea. Right." Rory shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She didn't want to think about Dean. True, she had finally consented to go out with him, but only because he was so damn persistent. She had wanted to stay just friends, simple as that. But that wasn't good enough for him. He was "in love with her," or so he claimed. But she knew better. The captain of the football team, in love? More likely that Lane's mother was secretly on ecstasy.

The problem was, besides the fact that he was quarterback, he did seem to truly like her. And her mother loved him. And she hated Jess.

"Well I don't know, I was just thinking…" Rory tried to think of any excuse, but none came.

"I guess you're right Lane. Besides, I haven't spoken to Jess since that day at the inn. Who knows what he's like now? Maybe he's changed." But in her heart, she knew he was still as perfect as she remembered. And Dean wasn't.

"Come on Rory, just give Dean some time. You hardly know him, but trust me he's really sweet. You're just unwilling to accept the fact that a guy can be popular and not a jerk. But I've spent a lot more time with him than you, and believe me he really does like you. He hardly talks about anything else. It's a little sickening, really." Lane smiled.

"I don't know, maybe I'm just nervous." Rory smiled. "I guess what's the worst that can happen? I should consider myself lucky, I guess."

"That's the spirit. When are you guys going out?"

"Umm……I think tomorrow night? Yea that sounds right." All of a sudden Rory was looking forward to her date with the most desired guy in town. Really, why had she been so against it before? Maybe it was just her nature. She had never really had a boyfriend before, so maybe she was just not used to having a guy's attention focused on her, and she naturally expected the worst.

It wasn't until she got home that she remembered why she had gone over to Lane's to begin with. Rory's mind started to race all over again. Why was he here? What had made him return to the town he hated so much? She knew he hated Stars Hollow, and with good reason; everyone here hated him too, and that was mostly her fault.

Guilt-ridden, Rory checked the messages on the machine. One was from her mom, saying she was running late at the inn and should order dinner for them. Another was from Sookie, and the last message was from Luke. Rory listened to it with bated breath, waiting for an explanation about Jess.

"Hey Lor, it's me, I just thought I should give you a heads up that Jess is…um…well he's back in town for a while. It wasn't my idea, I swear, I know how you feel about him, but it was kind of unexpected…I'll explain it all later, I'd rather talk in person, considering…well…yea I'd just rather tell you face to face… that's all really, I guess I'll see you later."

Rory was intrigued. What was so secret that he couldn't leave on the machine? Why was Jess back? And why did Luke feel the special need to warn her mother about it? Rory knew that her mother had strong opinions, but Luke rarely catered to them unless asked specifically. Curiously, Rory listened to the message again, looking for some hidden meaning but finding none. She erased the message. Her mom didn't know that Jess was back. She wanted to keep it that way for a while, until she could think of a plan.

Rory went to sleep that night dreaming of trees and big brown eyes staring right through her.

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Jess, on the other hand, didn't sleep well at all. He was worried about what would happen in the morning. Would people really remember everything that had happened before? Would they find out about everything that had happened since? One thing he didn't mid about Stars Hollow was that no one knew just how bad his situation really was. And he didn't really want to enlighten them.

In the morning, when he woke up, Jess picked up his clothes from off the floor and put them on. He didn't really care so much about making a good impression on his teachers. They would find out about him anyway, it was all in his records. Them, he couldn't influence. As for the rest of Stars Hollow, he had come to the decision that they were just one chapter of his life. Barely even relevant to anything else that might happen to him later. He didn't plan on being here long, regardless of what Luke said.

"I'm out." He breezed past Luke on his way out of the diner, barely even hearing Luke's calls to him as he slammed the door behind him. He was already late, what could Luke say to help him? He doubted he would hear any words of wisdom from anyone in Stars Hollow, let alone his own uncle.

"Oh sorr-" he stopped. "Rory. Um…wow…hi." He blushed, as did she. Of course he would run into her, on his first day of school, late, with her looking like a perfect angel. Her enormous blue eyes pierced him with a look of shock and surprise.

"Jess…um…what are you doing here?" She looked around. "How are you? It's been a while." She seemed nervous.

Jess could hardly speak. It was as though she were something completely different from what he remembered; no longer a rag doll, more like a china doll, perfect in all its innocence and beauty.

"I have to go, I'll see you later." He couldn't stand there like an idiot gaping at her. That wasn't his style. He was more the type to take off when in doubt.

But he wasn't prepared to see her sad eyes tear up, or the hurt look on her face. He felt bad, but really there was nothing for him to say to her. He was caught completely off guard. He tried to justify running away to himself, but when he couldn't think of any good excuse he just gave up. School was waiting for him, he couldn't afford to start the day off on a bad foot. He needed this chance to do good again.

But Rory couldn't forget. For the rest of the day, all she could think of was what he said, 'I have to go…' He couldn't even bear to stand with her for a couple of seconds. What had she done to him that was so horrible?

She felt no better when her phone rang at the end of the school day. She answered without looking at who it was.

"Hello? Rory?"

It was Dean.

"Oh hi. What's up? How are you?" She tried to sound normal, but at the same time she was fighting to keep herself from hanging up. He was the last person she wanted to talk to at that moment.

"What time should I come and get you? You know, for the party tonight?"

"Oh right." They had decided to go to Jamie Wilkin's party that night, on their date. She was actually glad that she would get a distraction. "How about at 8? That should be fine."

"Alright. Um, Rory?" He sounded apprehensive.

"Yea?"

"I'm really glad you said yes. I really like you, a lot."

Rory's guilt increased tenfold in that one moment. Lane was right, he sounded genuinely in love with her. Too bad she was obsessing about a guy who probably hated her. She decided then and there to stop thinking about Jess. He wasn't worth it. She had a guy who actually wanted to be with her. Why not give him a chance? It might actually make her happy. Better than crying about a guy who could probably care less about her.

"I'm glad I said yes too, Dean. More and more all the time. I'll see you later, ok? Bye."

Hanging up, Rory smiled. She was going to move on. Five years is too long to hold a torch for someone who obviously couldn't stand being around her. She was determined to have fun with Dean, no matter what it took. She needed something good, and Dead was certainly able to o that for her.

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So……what do you guys think? You like? No? any suggestions? Preferences? Anything at all?

Let me know what's good and what's bad, changes, ideas, I'm totally open to anything you guys want. Comment!!