1990…
Luke had bought Jess some sidewalk chalk. He knew how much his nephew liked to draw, his entire fridge was decorated with random pictures, and recently he had even been able to identify just what Jess was aiming to create. He was so proud of himself.
When he saw the chalk at the store, he thought Jess might actually like a new canvas, and it wasn't like the rain couldn't easily wash away his art. So, Taylor really shouldn't have a problem with it. And if Jess happened to like what he drew, Luke could easily take a photo of it with his camera.
During break between lunch and dinner, Jess had gone outside with his bucket of chalk. Luke had been keeping an eye on him, but would look away every so often to wait on the odd customer or check with Cesar.
He had just returned from helping Cesar clean up a couple broken plates, one of the few times he had actually looked away from Jess, when he spotted his nephew outside, staring up at Taylor, while the older man held his chalk and yelled at him.
Luke rushed outside and snatched the chalk out of Taylor's hand, cutting the older man's tirade off. He met Taylor's eyes and snapped, "What the hell is going on out here?"
"Your nephew was defacing public property, Luke," Taylor said pulling himself up to his full height.
"Defacing…?" Luke shook his head, looking down at his nephew. Jess looked on the verge of tears, standing next to his picture of a half-finished tree. "Are you okay?" he asked softly, kneeling down next to Jess. The little boy nodded, sniffing, running his chalky hands down his pants and leaving green streaks on his jeans.
"Here," Luke said handing his nephew the chalk. "Go inside and wash your hands, okay?" Jess nodded again and ran inside, not stopping until he was, most likely, up the stairs and out of sight.
Luke took a second to collect himself before getting to his feet. He met Taylor's eyes and said, "I swear, Taylor, you have been out to get Jess since he came to live with me."
"Now Luke, that is a…"
"When he was three you accused him of stealing," Luke pressed on, cutting Taylor off again. "Even though, he had picked up the paper towels Babette had dropped. When he was four, you told him that if he rode his bike by your store one more time, you would be sure to call the cops on him for loitering. And last year, you banned him from your store for three days because he accidently knocked three boxes of Ritz crackers from the shelf."
Taylor wanted to say something, Luke could tell, but the younger guy cut him off a third time. "If Jess wants to draw on the sidewalk, in front of MY diner, he has every right to, and you are not going to stop him. Do I make myself clear?" And Luke stormed away before Taylor could say another word.
GG
Present Day…
Jess noticed Taylor tracking his movements as he left Luke's diner the next day. The older man always tried to act inconspicuous, but it hardly ever worked. According to Luke, Taylor's goal was to prove Jess was a no good delinquent. Though, in recent years, Taylor had toned down the dislike just a little bit; especially when he realized Jess was there to stay.
"Hey," Rory said when he approached the bench she was sitting on. They had a few minutes to kill before school, and Jess knew she wanted to tell him the big news.
"Hi," he responded sitting next to her.
"So, I saw you talking to the new kid," she commented, stalling. He just wished she'd tell him the news so he could pretend to be happy for her. Not that he wasn't, exactly, but a part of him didn't want her to switch schools. "He seems nice."
"He's okay," Jess replied shrugging. And seems to have a thing for you, he tacked on silently.
"So, I have news," Rory continued after a few seconds of silence. "I got into Chilton."
"Yeah, Luke told me," Jess responded with a small smile. "Congrats by the way."
"Thanks."
They fell silent again. Rory was staring at the ground, and Jess was studying his shoes. Finally, Rory took a breath and said, "I'm sure we'll see each other on the weekends."
"And you and your mother practically live at Luke's," Jess pointed out and she smiled. "It's not like we'll never see each other."
"Yeah."
Their third awkward silence was broken up by the arrival of Lane, and the small group headed towards the school. Lane began talking about Rory cleaning out her locker today, and Jess silently excused himself and headed towards his own.
"Does your uncle need help at the diner?" A voice asked and Jess moved his locker door aside to see Dean standing behind it, his back against a bank of lockers, his arms crossed.
"Why?" Jess asked loading his backpack with his morning books.
"I need a job," Dean replied.
"I could ask him, but I think you should find another place. You know, just in case."
"Good idea," Dean replied nodding. "So, I got my schedule." He pushed away from the locker, pulling a folded piece of paper from his pocket. He unfolded it and waved it in the air. "We have three classes together."
"Happy day," Jess muttered shutting his locker door. He started towards his first period class, Dean easily keeping pace.
"So, about that brunette girl…"
Oh joy, here comes the awkward 'are you two dating' question. "You mean Rory?"
"Is that her name?"
Oh, nice one Mr. Casual, Jess thought fighting an eye roll. He turned to meet Dean's eyes and said, "Look, man, just go talk to her. She's not going to bite."
"Oh, I just thought…"
"There's nothing going on between us," Jess assured the taller boy. He managed to keep his voice even while at the same time his stomach jolted. Dean must have seen something in his eyes, something Jess hadn't managed to hide.
"Hey man, if…"
"Just go talk to her," Jess repeated as the bell rang. "I've got class. See ya later." And he left Dean standing outside the class room.
GG
Normally Rory would have an excuse slip-signed by a 'doctor'-saying she just couldn't participate in the sports they were playing during gym. In fact, Jess couldn't even remember the last time he had seen her do anything during their gym classes.
But today she decided to dress and contribute her energies for the fifty minute period. They were playing volleyball that day, and after six seconds Jess realized why exactly Rory never played sports. She was terrible.
Every time the ball would come at her she'd flinch out of the way. A few times the ball hit her legs or her hip. And once she tried hitting it, but somehow ended up hitting herself in the head instead. Jess tried hard not to laugh, but it was just impossible.
By the end of the class period, Jess was fairly certain Rory had given up any hope of playing sports.
"At least you tried," he commented with a smile.
"Shut up," she playfully snapped as she headed towards her next class.
GG
After school, Jess stayed behind his art class to ask his teacher about an assignment. Once his question was answered, he was heading back to his locker when he noticed Rory saying good-bye to Lane. As the bespectacled girl walked out of the school, a book and a ball of paper fell from Rory's box.
She stooped down to pick it up. Jess walked forward to help her, but stopped short when he noticed Dean standing over her.
Rory looked up and exclaimed, "God! You're like Ruth Gordon just standing there with a tannis root. Make a noise."
"Rosemary's Baby."
"Yeah."
Jess noticed the look on Rory's face when Dean understood the reference. Rarely did anyone get her obscure references, Jess generally being the only one. Maybe telling Dean to talk to Rory wasn't Jess' best idea.
He turned, heading back to his art class, leaving those two alone. He couldn't quite shake the jolt of jealousy he felt, but he managed to push it back when he returned to the art class.
"Forget something, Jess?" the teacher asked from his desk.
Nope, just looking for my dignity, he thought but said, "I think I dropped a pencil."
After feigning a search for a few minutes, he mumbled something about the pencil being gone, and quickly returned to the hallway. Both Rory and Dean were gone, and Jess was able to get to his locker.
So what if Rory and Dean started dating. Why did he care? She was a big girl; she could date whoever she wanted. And her and Jess grew up together, they were practically siblings. Dating between him and her would be borderline wrong. Of course, if that were the case, why did his stomach tighten at the thought of Rory dating Dean?
He really needed to get out of his head. He figured a few hours of taking orders and delivering food followed by an hour of homework might actually get his mind off things. And if it didn't, maybe some time sketching, writing, or reading. He'd do anything as long as he didn't have to think about Rory, Dean, or his own jealousy.
GG
Luke noticed something was up with Jess. He was being too quiet. He might not talk much, but he'd never been this quiet. He was also zipping around the diner, helping as many people as he could, while he avoided one table in the middle. The one table holding the town's Gilmore girls; Luke wondered if Jess and Rory had a fight.
Of course, from the way Rory and Lorelai were acting, it seemed Jess and Rory weren't the only ones having an argument.
"So, what holiday's in September," Rory asked as Luke approached the table.
"Look, it's not a holiday. It's just dinner, okay?" Lorelai snapped looking down at the table.
"Fine, sorry."
Luke cut the argument off when he placed their plates on the table. He looked between the two and said, "Red meat can kill you. Enjoy." He walked off, listening to the girls continue their 'discussion.'
"So, I finished hemming you skirt today," Lorelai said no doubt trying to steer away from their argument. Rory didn't answer. "A grunt of acknowledgement might be nice."
"I don't understand why we're going to dinner tomorrow night. I mean, what if I had plans? You didn't even ask me."
Luke left them to their 'conversation', heading towards Jess. The younger guy was refilling Bootsy's coffee cup while simultaneously writing down Kirk's order. Luke noticed Bootsy's mug was dangerously close to overflowing, and just managed to stop the inevitable mess.
"Oh crap, sorry," Jess exclaimed turning to face Luke.
"It's fine," Luke said placing the coffee pot back on the percolator. "What's going on with you?"
"Nothing," Jess replied handing Caesar Kirk's ticket.
"You sure?"
"Yeah, Luke, I'm sure." Caesar rang the bell, signifying an order was up. Jess turned towards it. "I need to…"
Luke nodded, stepping aside to allow Jess access to the cook. If his nephew didn't want to talk about, Luke wasn't going to push him. He'd come to the older man when he was ready.
"We have to pay first!" a voice exploded through the diner, and Luke turned to look towards Lorelai and Rory's table. The older of the two turned, threw some money on the table, and both started towards the door.
"What was that about?" Luke asked curiously.
Jess shrugged, but his eyes said something different. Either he knew what they were fighting about or he, at least, suspected. Maybe that's why Jess was upset, too. Maybe whatever was going on between Lorelai and Rory had something to do with Jess.
"We need to talk," Luke said, gently grabbing his nephew's arm and hauling him towards the supply closet.
"Jeez, Uncle Luke, all you had to do was ask," Jess grumbled the moment Luke had released him and closed the door. "I would have just followed you."
"What is going on? First you are acting like someone ran over your dog…"
"We've never had a dog," Jess pointed out slowly.
Luke ignored him and continued, "Then Lorelai and Rory are arguing. Something I've never seen."
"They are human. Humans tend to argue."
Luke glared at Jess and finished, "And you obviously know-or at least suspect-what they are talking about. So, tell me it's not anything illegal. Or that you and Rory aren't planning to run away somewhere…"
"Luke, I told you…"
"Jess."
Jess sighed heavily, hanging his head. He then looked up and said, "Rory met the new kid today, and I think she likes him."
"And if she does, she's not going to want to go to Chilton," Luke supplied nodding. Everything made perfect sense now. Liz would have acted the same way had she been in Rory's position. Granted, she probably would have disappeared with the boy before an argument could break out between their parents and her.
As for Jess, Luke knew he had had a crush on Rory for a while. He knew the kid better than anyone, and there had been a time when Jess told him everything. Now that he was older, he kept some things to himself
"Sorry buddy," he said softly.
"Don't worry about it," Jess replied heading towards the door. "I'm not."
GG
1995…
"Luke?" Luke glanced over at his nephew, sitting at the counter, a serious look on the boy's face.
"What's up, buddy?"
"I need to ask you something."
"What?"
"If I…" Jess face flushed red and he averted his eyes. "Um…"
"It's okay, you can tell me," Luke encouraged smiling at his nephew.
"If I…" he cleared his throat. "Let's just say, I like a girl…"
"You want to know how to talk to her?"
"No, I can…" he trailed off, gently kicking his feet. "I already talk to her, I just…"
"Ah," Luke said knowingly. He knew who his nephew was referring to. "Have you told her how you feel?"
"That's what I need help with. What do I say to her?"
"Follow your heart," Luke supplied shrugging. It's what his mother told me growing up.
"That's it?" Jess asked incredulously. "Follow my heart?" And that's exactly how Luke reacted. "I wanted advice. That was useless."
"I could give you more."
"It's fine, I'll just tell her," Jess replied and jumped down from his stool. He looked up at Luke, shook his head, and muttered, "'Follow your heart.' That's just…" he kept grumbling as he walked out of the diner.
GG
Jess returned about a half an hour later, looking mildly troubled. He climbed onto the stool, meeting Luke's eyes, and said, "I didn't tell her."
"What? Why not?" Luke asked curiously.
"She was talking about her parents arguing over something, and how she wished her dad was around more, and all this stuff. Then she called me a great friend and hugged me. So, I hugged her back, said I'll always be there for her, and walked away." Jess sighed. "I couldn't do it, Luke. Not when she was like that."
"Do you want some ice cream?" Luke questioned after a few moments of silence. Jess nodded. "Okay."
GG
*peeks head around corner* Hey guys! Uh... Why are you glaring at me? Is that a pitchfork?
I know, I've been gone a while. I fell into a writer's block hole. Damn writer's block.
Anyway, I'm back now. Hopefully for good.
So, thanks for reading. Leave a comment, and I own nothing.
Thanks for all the reviews, alerts, and favs last chapter.
BYE!