A/N: First chapter was about season two finale, and the second chapter is going to be based on what happened in between season two and three, and the first episode of season three Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days. It's mostly going to be told from Rory's point of view, because we don't know much about Jess' summer.
Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls is owned by Amy Sherman Palladino, the one and only.
CHAPTER 2- Sodas, and Pretzels, and Beer
Rory awoke the next morning only to find herself thinking of the wrong boy. She couldn't shake that kiss. She could still feel it, still taste it, and still remember it, as vividly as if it were happening right now. Jess was back, in Stars Hollow. Why? He had hated it here, and had been sent off to live in New York. All of a sudden he wanted to come back to the town he referred to as hell.
New York. Rory had been there, just to see Jess. She had ditched school, missed her mom's graduation, and run away from Paris so she could go see Jess. Rory had changed everything about herself, to go see a boy who didn't love her. Could that be why he was here? To ask her more about the visit, to ask her why she changed? Rory wasn't the same, and she didn't know if she had Jess to blame for that.
As Rory crawled out of bed, she felt the cool floorboards hit her feet. They were so comforting, taking all the heat from her body. Once Rory had showered, eaten a breakfast of marshmallows and cold rice, she was ready to go to the bookstore. Books were her only sanctuary, and since Lorelai was still passed out in bed (most likely hung-over from the wedding), Rory could slip away without notice. While she slowly opened the door and stepped out the doorway she heard her mother's wailing from upstairs.
"Bad Ringing. Ringing Must Die." Lorelai screamed, obviously being woken up from her drunken headache by the phone.
Rory ran as quickly as she could to the hallway by the stairs, grabbing the phone from its cradle. She had run from the door, her breath a bit rushed she answered.
"Hey."
"Rory Gilmore, you're being connected with Paris Gellar and Headmaster Charleston. Please hold." A young woman had answered, sounding overly scripted in her response.
"Ms. Gellar, Ms. Gilmore, do I have your attention?" Mr. Charleston was not as technologically advanced, and had always been uneasy with phones.
"Yes sir." Both girls replied, in unison. It was eerie how similar they were at times.
"I'll make this quick, so as not to disturb your summer vacation. You have been voted in by the majority of your peers as President and Vice President of the 2003 Student Body. As you already know, the winners are awarded admission to a summer program in Washington D.C.. My secretary has already e-mailed you the travel information including your tickets. I hope you have a wonderful and enlightening summer. Good evening ladies." And with that Headmaster Charleston was gone. Rory quickly bid Paris a good afternoon and checked her e-mail. There was all of her information, as Charleston had said. It included her ticket which was scheduled for noon…TOMORROW? She had to pack, and tell her mother, and say goodbye to Jess. Say goodbye to Dean, that's what she meant, Dean.
Rory needed to clear her head and was ready to get out of the house. She pulled her suitcase out of the closet, threw it one her bed, and walked out of the back door. She took a route through the trees and over the bridge. Once she got into the book shop, she ran into the back and dove directly into a section she'd never even browsed. Rory was in the romance section.
Rory had always thought romance novels were stereotypical and fake. She knew this and yet she needed to read one. She needed a great mind to tell her what was right. After purchasing one terrible romance novel, and a fourth copy of Youth by Vladislav Khodasevish, Rory pulled the cove of Youth onto her terrible love story and walked out of the store. As she shoved the actual book in her bag, Rory began to dive her nose into the trashy romance novel when all of a sudden…
"Rory!"" Dean nearly yelled. He was walking down from Doose's, most likely just getting off from work. He began to half run towards her, and enraptured her in the biggest hug ever.
"Paris called my phone again. She said that she's kidnapping you to Washington D.C. She's lying right? You're not going to spend six weeks away are you?" Dean was speaking so fast, and without taking any breaths. Rory stepped back away from him, and looked into his depressed eyes.
"Dean, I am going. I don't want to leave you, but this is probably one of the most important things for my Harvard application. Time in Washington will help me look into my future. Please understand me." Rory felt guilty for lying to Dean. She did want to go to D.C., and partly to get away from him. Rory needed to get out of Star's Hollow and think about what had happened. This was her opportunity to figure it out.
Dean looked back into Rory's eyes, hugged her tight, and smiled. Dean walked back towards his house. Rory hadn't anticipated seeing Dean, and it had thrown off her entire thinking schedule. She needed a quiet and serene place, where it was just her, her book, and the world. The lake.
Rory walked to the lake slowly. She didn't want to draw attention to herself, and with her nose in a book, she gave off the impression that she didn't want people in her business. She had the rest of the day to think.
It had been six weeks since Sookie's wedding. Six weeks since she'd been to Luke's, home, or with Dean. Most significantly, it had been six weeks since she had kissed Jess. After listening to Paris' incessant ramblings on her debates, and meetings with senators, Rory had finally given into relaxation. She lies on her bed, with two piles.
One pile is comprised of over thirty letters, neatly stacked with the envelopes still in tact. Some are pages long and some are just a few scribbled lines. Each one is signed the same Love, Dean.
The second pile was much less tidy. Rory had written nearly as many letters as Dean. All of these letters were crumpled and tossed all over the bed. Some had been ripped and some were scribbled with ink. Rory sat in front of this pile with one fresh sheet of paper. On this one piece of paper were two small words. Two words that had such an impact, she couldn't follow them up. Dear Jess. Rory had written and rewritten dozens of letters to Jess but hadn't felt that a single one was even adequate. There weren't words for what she needed to tell him.
How many times could a person rewrite a letter? So far Rory had written at least one draft a night, throwing most of them in the trash, or the hotel pool, or in once scenario down the toilet. Each letter said something to a completely different effect, which was her biggest issue. What was she supposed to say to Jess "Hey, I've had a crush on you since we met, but I think I'm supposed to love my boyfriend of over a year." This was a problem.
"My plane gets in at 3." Rory said absentmindedly, watching Paris scurry around their room like a Emily did when looking for Trix's old gifts.
"I'm in at six" Dean replied, with a certain longing in his voice. It had been over a month and a half since he had seen Rory, and he felt lonely and deprived.
"Red, Purple, Green…" Paris was frantically searching for her clothes. Her first date with Jamie was within a matter of moments and Paris was anything but composed.
"Where the hell is it?" She was storming through their room, looking anywhere possible for the matching sweater that she had picked out hours ago.
"That gives me three hours to look presentable. Hmm… perhaps I'll go blonde." Rory joked to break the ever so obvious tension on the phone. She had spoken to Dean every night since she had left, but sometimes they only spoke momentarily, sharing quick I love you's.
"I strongly request that you don't." Dean was multitasking while talking to Rory, watching the football game as well. He had the Gilmore girls for quite some time and their jokes became a part of standard conversation.
"Afraid of change?" She taunted, knowing that Dean was conservative and not ready to live on the edge. Some men she liked were incredibly dangerous, thriving off of the edge.
"No, I just like what I have." He had a way of complementing her even when she poked fun at him. Even if Dean wasn't the sharpest tack in the box, he sure knew how to make a girl feel wanted.
"I like a man who settles." Rory said, knowing that this wasn't true. Rory was an intelligent girl who needed to be challenged. Some people just couldn't entertain her for long (it was the reason she and Paris actually could get along at times).
"I miss you." Dean finally got to the point of his call. He had been thinking of her night and day, and refused to enjoy his trip at his grandparents' house. He had so much on his mind. Rory had been acting differently and being Dean, he just hadn't been able to decipher what that was.
"I miss you too." She replied, in an almost perfunctory manner. She had endured these phone calls for weeks and at the moment, she was more interested in Paris' love life than her own relationship with Dean.
"Hey! Hey, stop being cute. I need help here." Paris interrupted Rory's conversation, pulling on her own hair to relieve her stress. She was still bouncing back and forth across the room looking for that sweater.
"I have to go. Paris is melting down." Rory sounded a bit too enthusiastic about getting off of the phone with Dean. She knew she had spoken too quickly and felt bad about the discomfort she was causing.
"Why?" Dean knew of Paris and had spent minimal time with her, but knew there was always a different reason for Paris' freak-outs.
"She has a date tonight" she replied, thinking about the response she would get. No one would ever expect Paris to date, especially when away from home in a strange place she had never been to.
"Really?" Dean said a bit too loudly before…
"Don't sound so surprised" Paris retorted towards the phone, hearing Dean's reply. Paris had never been the kind of girl who tolerated this sort of behavior, and dating wasn't going to change the way Paris was.
"How do you know he sounded surprised?" Rory leaned back asking her. Paris had always had a super sense, one that not even the smartest girls at Chilton could figure out.
"Because I'm a genius Rory. I have deep and powerful clairvoyant abilities." Paris' sarcasm ceased to amaze those in her midst.
"Oh boy." Rory replied somewhat to herself, Dean, and Paris.
"For example, I can instantly deduce that when someone hears the name Paris in the same sentence as the word date, jaws will drop, confused looks will cover faces, words like how and why and Quick Bob, get the children in the minivan cause the world is obviously coming to an end will immediately fly out of people's mouths." Paris' rants were always entertaining and it amazed Rory that even Paris could be so considered by what a silly boy said. Maybe dating had changed her.
Rory closed her conversation with Dean, knowing that Paris' responses would only get harsher and louder, and she didn't need that kind of stress before a first date. Unnoticed and provoked by Paris was Rory's lack of I love you to Dean. Paris' mutterings had thrown off Rory's train of thought, subconsciously forgetting the most important part of the conversation.
Within seconds of hanging up the phone, Rory flew to the other side of the room, trying to help Paris with her hair, make-up, and wardrobe, all which of Rory thought were fine, while Paris whole heartedly disagreed. As Rory tried to calm Paris she heard mumblings of zagats and winging it. Paris was far too scared and Rory had no idea on how to subdue her.
"I can't date. I'm not genetically set up for it. I get no pleasure out of the prospect or preparation. I've showered four times; I'm covered in hives. And for what? Some guy who doesn't have the brains to buy a zagat so we don't end up in a restaurant that is just a front for a cocaine laundering ring?" Paris was seriously freaking out! She was speaking at record Gilmore speed and was barely coherent. She was turning red and you could see the stress pouring from her mouth.
After lightly applying some blush and eye-shadow, and listening to Paris' fake reasons for why a boy would ask her out, Rory attempted explaining how you know if someone is right for someone.
"Someone who likes what you like. And who reads the same books, or listens to the same music, or likes to trash the same movies. Someone compatible." Rory didn't really listen to herself telling Paris this. It seemed as though she gave some of the best advice but couldn't take her own advice. Dean had never really found pleasure in reading, which was probably Rory's greatest passion. His music taste was small and anything but diverse, and he went along with whatever movies Lorelai and Rory put on.
Rory thought back to that sleigh ride with Jess so long ago. Jess had known that Lorelai and Rory's snowwoman was modeled after Bjork, and interestingly enough he knew who Bjork was.
"Hey, what do you and Dean talk about?" Jess questioned. He sounded so curious, and sincere. Jess never really asked, he just acted as though he was tough and shielded out all things he didn't understand.
"What?" Rory had been thrown by the question. Why in god's name would Jess care about Dean and Rory's relationship now looking back on this moment she knew. She probably always knew Jess liked her,
"Does he know Bjork?" Jess had noticed Rory's amusement in his knowledge of Bjork, and thought that maybe her tall oaf of a boyfriend wasn't as rounded.
"I've played him some stuff" Rory was modest and covering for her devoted sweetheart. She was quick to defend him and did a decent job doing so.
"Hmmm… So you got a teacher student thing going?" Jess was getting smug. It didn't take much when Dean was the topic of conversation. Jess had never really heard much of Dean that intimidated him, besides his size, and this made him feel a bit more confident.
"Stop." She added, half jokingly, half serious. She didn't know whether she should be laughing or defending the boy who had so graciously taken care of her for the past year.
"No. Really, I'm curious. What do you guys talk about?" He wasn't joking at this point. It seemed at this point that he had never experienced a real relationship. This is when Rory knew, knew that Jess had never really dated. He surely hadn't spilled his heart out to some girl, and didn't know what couples were supposed to talk about.
"Everything" was her immediate response, not really knowing what to say. She and Dean had become good friends, but it was hard to deny that they were on different intellectual levels.
"Like….?" He was provoking her and she didn't like it. Jess had a way of making Rory feel incredibly uneasy. His questions always seemed to dig into her real thoughts and no one had ever had the courage to be so nosey around her.
"Everything. Tons of stuff. Whatever." Rory had no actual response. She and Dean didn't have tons to talk about now that she thought about it. They went to different schools, had different hobbies, and different lives. They didn't really match.
"Just in the brief non-feudalistic time I've spent with him in class, he just doesn't seem like your kind of guy." Jess was stabbing at Rory's heart. He was pulling at the truth, trying to pull it out of her. Rory had realized that Dean wasn't her kind of guy within the past few months, she just hadn't figured out who was. Until she did figure it out, she planned on using Dean as a safety net and comparison. Her intentions were good, but somehow Jess had made her feel bad about it.
"Well he is my kind of guy. He's exactly my kind of guy." Rory put her guard up, now feeling like her mind was being violated and delved into. Jess seemed to know everything about her without even knowing her, She wasn't necessarily protecting Dean, but herself and her own choices.
"Okay, guess I don't know him that well." Jess knew he was prying and decided he should back off before he caused Rory any more worry. He had only wanted to know for his own learning purposes, but had realized that this was not going to help him on the Rory front.
"But not so compatible that they're boring." Rory stated, making sure Paris didn't fall in love with her evil male twin brother. She also was afraid that if Paris were to be with someone exactly like herself, the world would probably implode.
"Someone who's compatible, but not compatible?" Paris wasn't really grasping the concept, but no one could blame her, she'd never really dated before.
"Yeah, kind of. You respect each other's opinions and you can laugh at the same jokes but I don't know there's just something about not knowing what the other person is gonna do at all times that is just really exciting." Rory was honestly thinking about Jess this entire time. She felt guilty, and you were not supposed to feel guilty when comforting a friend. She had been brushing Paris' hair and was day dreaming about the local bad boy. What a sarcastic, smart, attractive bad boy he was…..
"Look just have a good time. You'll figure it out!" Rory spat it out and wanted to get off the subject before her draw dropped and she began drooling. Jess did something to her, even when she was just thinking about him.
"Yeah. I hope I figure it out fast, before I throw up." Paris seemed finally calmed down, or she had given up before the date had even started.
After reassuring Paris that she looked gorgeous and that her hair was fine, Rory felt a sense of pride. She had cooled Paris down to a semi-normal person, at least she thought she had.
"Now, go hide in the closet." Paris said this as if it were the most normal request, like asking for a friend to pick up your laundry, or telling a kid to make their bed. Paris' sense of normal was beyond abnormal.
"What?" This was the only thought that could come to Rory's mind. She had gone from thinking about Jess to being told to climb in closets.
"If he comes in here and sees you he won't want to date me anymore." Paris stated this bluntly, but you could see in her eyes that she was actually scared. Rory had dated and was obviously more experienced; Paris must have thought this meant competition.
"Paris, that's crazy. He's seen me, he's seen me for weeks." Rory looked at Paris as if she was trying to sell her drugs. This was such an absurd thing for her to say.
"Yes in conferences, crowded lecture halls, and badly lit banquet rooms with crappy food smells, but not at night, when it's dating time and he's thinking about dating and you're standing there looking all datable." Paris looked so genuinely concerned. Rory found it shocking that Paris would consider her datable, but as we all know, Paris' views on the dating world were a bit skewed.
"I'm not looking datable" Rory tried to pull this off as true, but even in her relaxation clothes she looked adorable, and Paris made a good argument.
"Please! I can't risk it. At least if there's nothing to compare me to then I've got a fighting chance. Please!" Paris really wanted this boy to like her, and Rory wanted Jamie and Paris to work out. If Rory had to sit in a closet for a while so that Paris could be happy, then so be it.
"Ok, but when you get home you need to get a new therapist because the one you have is really not working" Rory muttered most of this under her breath as she grabbed a flashlight and binder with paper, heading into the closet, where she would wait for Paris to disappear.
Rory had found the idea completely stupid and ignorant before she sat down on the floor. There was something about that closet that helped her clear her head. The smell was of dry-cleaned clothes and fresh carpets. It was dark and small, but cozy enough that she could lean on a jacket behind her. She pointed her flashlight at her binder and wrote.
This had been the best writing experience she had had all summer. Rory sat in there for hours; no one actually knows how long she stayed in there. She used the rest of the paper that she had, which was around ten or so pages. Rory being the genius person she was had it very well worded, but Rory also being the young woman she was had poured her heart and soul into that letter.
In the smallest nutshell, she told Jess that he was different from anyone she knew. Jess had made her giggle like a little girl on her first pony ride, he made her think about things she never would have thought about before, and he had gotten her into loads of trouble. Jess had made her life exhilarating, but that didn't mean she was in a position to date him. She had been with Dean and everyone in town was accustomed to her and Dean.
The ending of the letter asked questions, which she knew Jess hated. It was necessary, and she drowned on for nearly a page front and back asking about his feelings and his life and if he would ever really be interested in her. Rory had finished the letter in her tiniest cursive scrawl, folding it perfectly and placing it in the last envelope she had. On that she wrote Jess in neat loopy writing. She planned on giving it to him when she got back, maybe slipping it under his tip at Luke's.
Rory had been home for less than an hour when she had already changed into her black floral dress, and was heading through some incredibly prickly bushes on her way to the End Of Summer Madness Festival. After trying to pick up Sookie and Jackson, Lorelai and Rory headed to the festival by themselves. While discussing what order they would eat their food on a stick, Lorelai ran into Taylor and took the chance to poke fun at the festival.
She blocked out Lorelai's pointless ranting and looked all around the festival for him. By the time her eyes had found him, all that could pass through her head was the annoying tune of "Those lazy hazy crazy days of summer, those days of soda, and pretzels, and beer". She'd turned around and Jess was pressed up against some tree with a bleach blonde girl plastered to his face. Her clothes barely fit, and she looked as if she was wearing children's shirt and hairstyle. She had thrown her grimy little hands around his neck, and it sickened Rory.
Rory couldn't help but stare as his perfect arms allowed his hands to go into her back jean pockets. Jess wasn't waiting for her or waiting tables at Luke's. He was a girl who didn't seem to be waiting for anything. She didn't know what was going through her mind, but Lorelai quickly made sure she had something else to occupy her mind.
After getting into a fight with Lorelai about her intentions with Dean, and then spending the rest of the evening with Dean, Rory went home, got in her bed, and thought. She tried to sit up on her pillows and organize everything in her mind, but it just didn't work. She had no idea how to manage the thoughts of Dean and Jess. Nothing could clear her mind.
Her last resort seemed necessary. Rory thought back on when she could think. She slipped her slippers on; she crawled into her closet and allowed the smell of clean clothes to consumer her.
Reviewers: Sorry this chapter was so long but I just couldn't stop. I hope you enjoy and I am really hoping you didn't think that any of the quotes were too long. I only took 200 words or so from the show, and this chapter is far longer than that. Hope you enjoyed, and please review!