A/N: Hello, loves! I just wanted you to know that this is a bit of a filler chapter with canon events in it. I will be posting the next future chapter in the next twenty-four hours though, so stay tuned! Also, don't forget to review, favorite, and follow! xx (Also, the quote from this chapter is taken from The Complete Short Stories by Ernest Hemingway

Stars Hollow — September 2001

It was going on hour 22 of the annual couples dance marathon. Rory was already groggy and fighting sleep as her mother ran off to get her broken heel fixed by Luke. For the past few minutes, Dean had done nothing but argue with Rory about Jess because he was there watching all the dancers. Rory didn't mind it. It's not like he had much better to do anyway seeing that Jess didn't particularly like anyone but Rory.

"Dean," Rory said sternly with anger spreading over her face. As dearly as she loved her boyfriend, she couldn't stand how much he hated Jess. "Stop." With that one word, she pursed her lips together and tried to stare him down so he didn't make a scene, but that's exactly what he was about to do, even if they were in the middle of the town square at that very moment.

The tall boy shook his head and let out a hesitant scoff. "Admit it," he threw his hands in the air, "you like Jess."

Jess rolled his eyes. "God, man, do you ever just leave her alone? Seems like you spend more time talking about me than anything else." It was always Jess' prerogative to piss Dean off and Rory started growing heated at her best friend as well because of that.

"Jess, don't even start," she warned him. The girl took a deep breath and thought seriously about walking away from the two of them. She couldn't believe that they'd go at each other and Rory in the middle of a town function. She didn't want them to create a scene, but more and more of the town grew interested in listening in on the teens.

Rory shook her head and held up her free pass to get her out of the dance for ten minutes and left the room while dragging the two boys along behind her. Jess's button up was in one hand and the sleeve of Dean's jacket was in the other. She felt as if she had two children that were acting out in public and she had to reprimand them quickly.

"I'm going to take your silence as a clue that you do like Jess," Dean said as soon as they stepped outside. He wasn't having it with the two friends anymore. Anyone could see that she liked him, except for himself. "Congratulations," Dean scoffed dramatically at Jess. "I'm done. You can have her."

The boy walked away without letting the other two get a word in. Rory's eyes welled up with tears as soon as he left. She couldn't believe that this was happening. A few seconds later, Jess was already pulling her into his arms in order to comfort the girl. It was an odd sight to see - not very Jess-like at all, but he couldn't let her cry on her own like that.

"That guy's a jerk," he whispered to her. "You don't need him anyway. You've got me." Jess held Rory tight, trying to protect her from whatever she was feeling at that exact moment. He never liked Dean anyway, but to break up with her in the style that he did really drove Jess insane. "Let's go back in."

Rory shook her head as kept her face buried in his chest. "Jess, I really don't want to go back in there."

The boy bit his bottom lip for a moment before grabbing Rory's arms and gently pulling her away from him. The girl looked startled, not wanting Jess to leave her or to go off after Dean. But instead Jess picked up her hand and dragged her away back to the lake. She smiled through the tears as the two sat down together. This is where they'd go every time something big happened whether it was good or bad. This was their spot and there was something that'd always be sacred about it. They sat down so that their feet were hanging above the water and the girl leaned into him once more.

For minutes on end, the two sat there without speaking and instead listening to the lake and creatures around them. Rory cleared her throat and sat up on her own. As she wiped her face clean, she looked over at Jess and tried her very best to smile. "I'm sorry. This is not how the night was supposed to go an-and I know silence kills you, but I don't have much to say, so you might as well get used to it for now."

Jess looked over at his grieving, broken hearted friend and shook his head. "I do not need to get used to your silence," he quoted with a mischievous smirk, "I already know it. I quite possibly love all of it."

Rory was awestruck as he spoke those beautiful words. "Who said that?"

"Hemingway." Jess shrugged.

The girl rolled her eyes. "I can't get into Hemingway."

"So I've heard, but you should know that Ernest only has lovely things to say about you."

Rory leaned over and placed a delicate kiss on Jess' cheek and the moment her lips touched his skin, all she felt was the blood rushing to his cheeks and creating heat. The girl smiled a bit as she pulled back, but acted like she didn't notice so it didn't embarrass him more. "Thank you, Jess. For everything."