Stars Hollow — June 2001

It had been a long lasting tradition that Jess came over on Wednesday nights when Lorelai was working at the Inn so the two could hang out together. It had been eight years since the boy moved to town, but Lorelai still couldn't stand the sight of him for the most part. He had never done anything bad to Rory, so the two teenager didn't understand where she was coming from when it came to her dislike for him. Now, of course, Jess wasn't exactly an angel like Dean Forrester, but he had a lot of layers to him and that's what Rory liked about her best friend.

It was five past nine at night when Rory looked to her side and saw that the couch was empty where Jess would normally be relaxed with his feet up, eating take-out with the girl. She sighed and tears came to her eyes. There was nothing wrong with having a girlfriend, Rory told herself. It's just that she didn't understand how he could ditch their six year long tradition for a girl like Shane. Rory just didn't understand how Jess could be attracted to someone like her. Shane wasn't exactly smart and the only thing she knew how to do was kiss him and have horribly boring conversations. It was like talking to a wall each time she tried to keep a conversation with Shane. Jess was too smart, he was too good and Rory was the only one in the world who could see that. Another thing that drove Rory crazy was the fact that Dean and Jess hated each other, but Rory never bailed on plans to hang out with Dean, even if Dean did pout and whine about it the next day. She just wanted to hang out with her best friend, and that was that.

Within the next ten minutes of waiting for Jess, the girl turned off the TV and started to carry the plates of food into the kitchen. If he wasn't going to show, she was going to study or go to sleep instead. There was no use in waiting around for him whenever he was with Shane. That's just how it was and Rory would have to deal with that. After the girl threw the liter of soda in the fridge, she heard the door open. "Mom?" She yelled from the kitchen. When she didn't hear a response, she knew that it was her monotonous friend and went out to check on him. The girl spotted him sitting on the couch as if she hadn't waited three hours for him. Rory scoffed and crossed her arms, "You're late."

"Sorry," Jess grunted and put his feet up on the coffee table.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Is that really all you have to say?"

"Geez, Ror, I said I was sorry." The boy shook his head, his face full of frustration. Jess knew that there had been a lot of tension between the two, but he didn't know what to do about it at this point. Instead of continuing the grudge between the two, Jess softened up a little bit before straightening up on the couch. "Let's just watch a movie, okay?"

Rory didn't want to budge. "Were you with Shane?"

The boy stood up and sighed. "Why, does it matter if I was?"

The girl shrugged at her friend and shot her eyes to the floor. "It wouldn't matter, I'm just wondering. You've never ditched me on a Wednesday, Jess."

At this point, Jess could see that Rory was obviously upset about this situation. The last thing on earth that he ever wanted to do was cause Rory Gilmore some type of distress or pain. He didn't know what to say anymore, so instead he stood up and went to wrap his arms around her. "Rory," he whispered with his head pressed against hers, "I am sorry. Can we please watch Almost Famous now?"

Rory nodded, but refused to let go at first. She didn't want to give him away to another girl, especially one like Shane. Jess was supposed to be with someone smart and kind, one that understood all the deepest layers of him. Once she stepped back from the hug, Rory cocked her head to look at Jess and threw him a small grin.

"What now?" Jess sighed.

Without a word, Rory ran into her bedroom and found sticky notes on her dresser. The girl scribbled out a few lines on each and returned to the living room. "Sign this." She held out the pen to Jess who gave her an odd look.

"Seriously?" He chuckled. "Rory, this is insane."

Suddenly, Rory had brightened up a bit. The sheer thought of this crazy post-it was enough to make the both of the teenagers smile long enough for the awkwardness of the night to pass them by. "I'm signing this one, now do your part and sign yours as well."

Jess smiled, "Whatever." He scribbled his signature down and handed it to Rory. In exchange, she gave him hers. "What am I even supposed to do with this thing?"

She shrugged. "Use it as a bookmark or put it in your wallet. Just keep it with you." The two smiled at each other, knowing that this was very dumb of them to both do. It was a Post-It. It probably wouldn't mean anything to them in ten years, but it meant the world to them at that particular moment in time and that's what mattered. "Now," Rory yelled as she ran back into the kitchen to collect the food, "do we really have to watch Almost Famous again?"