Sorry for the shortness of this chapter. I hope it is worth every word, and don't worry…I'll make it up for the length in chapter eight.

Thanks for the reviews on chapter six: DiehardJavaJunkie14, gilmorefanforever, ShaolinQueen, GrlWithoutAName, CherryWolf713, ultimategilmoregirl, Christi, bartocorleone, Sagebeth, Kassandra27, chunkymunky85, Curley-Q, Lynn, and I-luv-jess-mariano.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls, Oliver Twist, any MBTA stop, and part of the land line answering machine message. If you know where it's from, I hope you're amused.

Bye, Rory

She peered up at him, a copy of Oliver Twist clutched in her hands, blue eyes penetrating his very being. "Jess?" she whispered in disbelief before dropping the book. She fumbled with the beat up paper back before looking up at his chocolate eyes.

"Rory," he said. "What are you doing here?"

She scoffed. "I could ask you the same thing. I thought you were in California, or New York, or not in Boston."

"What about you, Miss I'm Going to Yale?" he bit back.

"I'm going to Harvard," she whispered. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm going to a community college," he said.

"That's…nice," she said softly. "You got your GED?"

"In Los Angeles." He smirked.

"Oh, that's…nice." Rory twirled the book in her hands. "Why are you here?" she asked.

"I just told you, I'm going to community college," Jess answered, annoyed.

"No. I mean, why are you here in this state, on this train, sitting across the way from me?" Rory turned her attention to the doors that had just opened. The train was pulling away from Kendall MIT station.

Jess feigned offense. "You mean you're not in any way pleased to see me? I'm a little hurt, Gilmore."

She pointed her finger at him accusingly. "You left me."

"I know. I'm sorry," he said lightly.

"You're sorry!" she raised her voice.

Jess groaned. "Hang on a second." He dug in his jacket pocket and pulled out a small cell phone. "What do you want, Sully?" Rory tried to concentrate on the book, but she had lost her page. "No, I'm on the train. By Central. Yeah, I have service. I don't know; it's a weird phone." Rory looked up from the page she was attempting to read. "What? No, I'm not supposed to be there until five." Jess turned his wrist over to look at the time. "It's only four-fifteen. Ben's lying. I never said I'd cover him. I picked up the pizza and left."

"Central Square. Next stop, Harvard Square." Rory looked up at Jess. The next stop was hers, and she wasn't sure if she would ever see him again.

"Just do damage control and rat Ben out?" Jess sighed. "I'll see you in about ten minutes. Okay, bye." He pressed the off button and slid the phone back in his pocket.

"Next stop is mine," Rory said.

"I figured," he responded, not moving from his seat in the corner.

"Okay, then." Rory stuck her book in her open purse and grasped the support bar over her head.

"Wait. Can we talk again?" Jess said quickly.

"I don't want to go anywhere with you," she replied coldly, snapping her head in the other direction.

"I'll be leaving from Downtown Crossing at four-thirty on Monday!" he said quickly.

Rory looked at him one last time before stepping off the train and leaving him alone.

She stepped on the train at Park Street station at four-thirty seven Monday afternoon.

"Fancy seeing you here," a smug voice from the corner said. "I didn't think you wanted to go anywhere with me."

"I'm on my way back from the library. It's not my fault my schedule coincides with yours." Rory gripped the drawstring of her knapsack and sat across the way from him.

"But you don't have to sit there."

"But I am," she retorted.

Jess smirked and shoved his small book in his pocket. "Tell me something," he demanded.

"What?" she asked.

"Tell me something," he repeated.

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Anything. Why did you go to Harvard?" he asked.

"It's complicated," she answered, shifted the knapsack.

"Oh, so you don't want to talk about it. He leaned closer to her. "Is it because you chose Yale to be close to me?"

"No!" she snapped quickly.

"Touched a nerve there didn't I?" he asked.

"I went to Harvard because I was sick of being reminded of you no matter where I went. Happy now?" she snapped.

Jess was obviously stunned as he looked back at her. "No, that's my fault. I should have said something."

"I don't want to solve our issues on a red line train," she said suddenly.

"What?" Jess asked. "I thought you didn't want to do this."

"I don't," Rory said. "But you hurt me, Jess."

Jess looked down at his sneakers. "I know," he said without looking away from the laces. "I'll get a pizza and we can talk?" he asked feebly.

"Make it two pizzas and I'll consider it," Rory found herself saying. She clamped her hand over her mouth.

"What about two pizzas and an order of chili cheese fries?" Jess smirked, knowing Rory's weakness for food.

Her heart pounded in her chest before she could find her voice. "Okay," she stammered.

Jess reached into his messenger bag to pull out a pen and a piece of paper. He quickly scribbled down two telephone numbers and handed the paper to Rory. "Call me. It's your stop."

Grabbing the paper and her things, Rory dashed out the doors before she missed her stop. She stared at the numbers as the train pulled away from the platform. Why was she doing this? She wasn't sure. Rory stuck the piece of paper between the pages of her book and walked back to the dormitory.

The phone rang one, twice, three times in her hand before she hung up. Biting her lip, she stared down at the paper, unsure of what number was Jess's cell phone. Confidently, she dialed the first number on the paper and listened to it ring.

"Hey, you've reached Jess Mariano's phone. He's too busy being a wanker, so leave a-What the hell are you doing? Don't set a message on my phone. Shit…how do I erase it?" The beep erupted through the speaker and Rory laughed before hanging up. She scanned down the paper and dialed the other number, which she assumed was for his apartment.

"You're reached Sully and Mariano. We can't get to the phone right now, so leave your low-down at the ding-dong."

Rory laughed. "Jess? It's Rory," she said shyly. "I didn't get you on your cell, so I thought maybe you'd be home. I guess I'll-"

"Rory?"

"Jess."

"You called," he said. Rory smiled at the tone of his voice. It was soft, and made her skin crawl.

"Yeah, I called." Rory sat down on her bed. "You promised me pizza, remember?"

"I just didn't think you'd call," he said honestly. "I'm glad you called."

"Yeah," Rory said softly. Jess was starting to make her melt from the warm tones of his voice. She tried to forget the hurt he caused her over the last five months.

"So, what's going on?" Jess asked gently.

"Just wanted to see about pizza," Rory answered, trying to find something to fidget with.

"Yeah? Well, I'm working tonight. When are you free?" he asked.

"My classes are usually over by three o'clock."

"Well, why don't I meet you at Harvard station at three-thirty on Thursday?"

"That sounds great," Rory said, trying not to sound as enthusiastic as she was really feeling.

"Okay. I'll see you then. Bye, Rory."

"Bye, Jess. And, I'm glad I called too," she whispered before flipped the cover of her phone down.