TW: Talk of SA
We were still dripping wet on our walk back through town square. Jess had yet again insisted that he'd walk me home, and I didn't object this time. The light from the sun was almost completely gone and even after the months I'd been living in this town it's still hard for me to navigate my way home in the dark.
But that's not the only reason. It was nice to walk home with him alone after the lake. After we'd kissed, my head was swimming with thoughts that I couldn't get straight and for the first time in my life I was quiet. No witty charm. No sarcastic remarks. No good-hearted insults. He didn't make a sound either.
But it didn't matter that there wasn't any conversation because it just felt nice to be near each other. To know that another human being that cares about you is there, with you, in the moment.
Talking wouldn't change that, but once we'd gotten past the dim streetlights that brightened the tiring town and down the suburban road that led to my house, I felt inclined to speak. To say something. Anything at all.
I faced him once we were standing in front of my driveway, and my heart rate picked up when we locked eyes. My mind went completely blank as Jess tucked strands of damp hair stuck to my face behind my ear, and his light brown eyes softened their gaze.
"Good night, Cassie." He smiled as he traced a delicate line down my neck, and I almost shuddered at the gentle touch.
"Good night, Jess." I managed to get out breathlessly and I couldn't help the bit of color that reached my cheeks as he planted a soft kiss on my lips.
3rd Person POV
What both Cass and Jess didn't know was that after Rory had hung out at Lane's house and had forgotten about her curfew, she was now rushing to get back home before her mom got too mad.
In her haste, she cut through the backroads of town, but something within sight made her halt to a stop. She had gotten there just in time to see Jess steal a kiss from Cass, and Cass disappear into what was presumably her house.
Rory hid herself behind a tree so he wouldn't spot her, and she didn't leave until Jess was well out of sight. Something bubbled inside her. Something that resembled a bitter rage.
Seeing Jess happy with her new boyfriend's ex filled her with a kind of betrayal that dug into her.
How could he do something like this to her?
Sure, she broke up with him, but why did that have to mean he'd make her suffer when she'd finally found someone new? She deserved to be happy, didn't she?
Why the hell should she let some no-good city boy dictate her happiness?
And it was then she made a promise to herself that she'd do whatever it took to make Jess move all the way back to New York.
The sky was a beautiful cerulean and the fresh air swirled around me as I made my way to Luke's Diner the next day. I felt exhilarated and happy, and it felt so fucking good. As I strolled up to the diner, I realized that Jess was scraping…
"Are those deviled eggs?" A laugh bubbled from my throat.
Jess's mouth curled into a slight smile as he jumped down from his ladder to meet me on the ground.
He chuckled as he replied, "Yeah, that's what it looks like, and I've been given the honor of scraping them off the windows."
He tried to pull me into a kiss, wrapping his arm around my waist, but I took a few steps back.
"Not sure how I feel about kissing in front of an audience." I quickly explained after gauging Jess's confused expression and glancing through the window, catching a few people staring.
I'm not embarrassed of Jess, but public displays of affection have never really been my thing. To be honest, they just make me feel a little uncomfortable.
"I get it," Jess responded completely unfazed and instead settled for kissing me on the cheek with a smirk, "It might be about another half an hour until I'm done."
"Ok, see you then." I smiled and waved him off as I entered the diner.
That was something I wasn't used to. Jess instantly compromised when I told him I felt uncomfortable. When I was with Dean, he used to make me feel guilty for setting boundaries. I should have seen the signs of an unhealthy relationship sooner.
Nevermind that now, there was work to be done. I grabbed my apron, tied my hair up, and washed my hands, now ready to serve some customers.
Everything was going smoothly until I overheard a conversation between Miss Patty and Babette. They always gossiped around this time of day, but today she and Jess were the unfortunate topic of theirs.
"How could she stand being next to him let alone date him knowing what he's done?"
"I don't know, Patty. Maybe it's normal in Jersey or something, but here we don't tolerate that kind of behavior."
I felt their eyes on me for the next 10 minutes until they paid their check and left. I racked my brain as I worked but couldn't come up with anything Jess has done recently to deserve being talked about like that.
And how did they know we were dating? Maybe our display earlier had tipped them off, but that still doesn't explain the rest.
Just then the bell above the door rang, and Jess walked through with a bucket and a couple of towels.
I didn't acknowledge him immediately, still sifting through my thoughts. It was only when he placed a gentle hand on my shoulder that I broke out of my reverie.
"Hey, Cassie, you ok?"
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," I say mustering up a close-mouthed smile and wrapping my arms around the back of his neck, "It was weird though, Babette and Miss Patty were just in here talking about some shit you apparently pulled. Have you done anything less than Boy Scout approval lately?"
I fiddled with his shirt collar.
"Huh, not that I can think of. It's probably nothing. Anyway, do you want to go out tonight? I mean I know we haven't actually gone on an official date yet, but we get off early so I just thought–"
"I'd love to." I smiled and gave him a quick peck on the lips, since no one was around. It was then that I realized that for once in my life I felt truly happy. This was the first time in a long while where I was honestly looking forward to doing something.
I just wish now that I hadn't gotten my hopes up like that.
Later Lorelai strolled into the diner alone looking a little on edge. She didn't even order her usual coffee and went with a strawberry milkshake instead.
Jess had just gone over to her to ask if she wanted any breakfast when she dumped the frothy drink right over his head, effectively soaking him with a cold amalgamation of ice cream, milk, and strawberries.
"What the hell Lorelai?!" Jess exclaimed, baffled by what just happened.
"I know what you did," she snarled.
"What the hell are you talking about? I haven't done anything!" Jess replied, wiping some of the drink from his eyes.
"You know what you did. Rory told me the real reason she broke up with you, and this town won't stop until you've moved all the way back to the big city you came from."
"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about." Jess deadpanned.
"And I thought you were better than this. Dating someone who has the audacity and crudeness to try and force someone to sleep with them." Lorelai spewed my way, and I couldn't help but gasp.
"Excuse me? Jess, what the hell is she talking about?" I was so completely caught off guard that I almost dropped the pitcher of water I was bringing to refill a table's drinks.
"I'm talking about the party that Jess and Rory snuck out to last year where your "loving boyfriend" tried to force himself on my little girl!" She was yelling now, and the whole diner was silent.
"Woah, I would never do anything to hurt her! Or anyone for that matter!" Jess exclaimed, disturbed by Lorelai's accusation, disgust written all over his face.
"Everyone stop talking!" My words thankfully rendered the room silent before I started again, "Lorelai, why should I believe you over Jess? At this point it's pretty much a "he said she said" situation. I refuse to believe such a repulsive claim from a girl that quite literally hates my guts without any evidence."
"Well, I believe her–" Lorelai tried to defend Rory.
I find her passion for her daughter admirable but honestly, if Jess says he didn't do it then I believe him. I glanced at him briefly, and I read the look on his face. It was full of pure unrelenting confusion and shock. "So not one piece of proof, but you expect me to believe you over someone I've come to trust pretty well."
"He's been a troublemaker in this town since the day he got here."
"But has he ever done something so bad it breaks every moral boundary in the book?" My voice was raw from arguing.
"No, but–"
"But nothing. I don't know you all that well, but I have spent more than half a year getting to know Jess, and he would never do something like that. If that's it I'm gonna have to ask you to leave. Please."
"Fine." Her blue eyes burned holes through the both of us until she packed up her things and left, disappearing around the corner.
"What the fuck was that?"
"I have no fucking clue."
It took all of 2 minutes for Luke to walk in from buying tomatoes next door, adjusting his cap as he pushed open the door. He scanned the dumbfounded look on our faces, "What'd I miss?"
The rest of the day was horrible. We both got our fair share of snide comments, but Jess got the brunt of them. He was harassed so badly he couldn't take it anymore, took the rest of the afternoon off, and locked himself in the apartment.
I really wanted to check in on him, but I figured he might need some time alone to sort things out in his head. So like any other day, I went on with my shift, trying to ignore the harsh words and filthy looks from customers.
Finally, the sun started to set, and my shift finally ended. I was really worried about Jess, so I decided to check up on him before I headed home.
After taking off my apron and hanging it in the kitchen, I walked up the stairs to the apartment. I went to knock when I realized the door was already open. The door creaked as I pushed it, and I took a few careful steps through the threshold.
"Jess?" I looked around the apartment for any sign of him but came up empty.
None of his stuff was there anymore, and it looked as if he packed up in a hurry. The only thing out of place in the usually messy apartment was a singular envelope on the coffee table with Cassie enscribed on the back in Jess's familiar handwriting. My heart dropped.
He wouldn't.
I walked further into the apartment to snag the envelope and shivered at the drastic change in temperature. It was freezing in here.
My eyes explored the rest of the room for the source of the sudden chill and found the window leading to the fire escape cracked open.
I snatched the envelope from the table and opened it hurriedly, afraid of what I might find.
It was a letter from Jess.
As I read it, I couldn't help the few tears that slipped down my face. I was right, and even though I usually loved being right, it never hurt like it did now.
Jess had left town and got on a bus back to New York. The rest of the letter expressed how sorry he felt, but he just couldn't deal with the entire town hating him just like they did the first time he rode into Stars Hollow.
He felt like nothing he did could change their perception of him. He would always be some bad guy from a big city that everyone wanted gone.
I wanted to be mad at him. I really did. But for some reason I just wasn't. I understand why he left, but why did it have to hurt so damn bad?
How could one girl's words completely destroy the happiness we'd created for ourselves?
Once I'd wiped away my tears, I shoved the letter into my back pocket and slowly made my way down the stairs, trying to think of a way to break it to Luke. He was going to be heartbroken.
I stumbled into the main part of the dinner.
"Hey kid, how is he?" Luke spoke over his shoulder while wiping down the last of the tables.
I tried to reply but my words got stuck in my throat. When he didn't hear a response, he turned around, and I crumbled under his gaze.
The emotions I stuffed down in order to be strong enough to break the news to Luke bubbled over and my voice came out strangled.
"H–he left, Luke. Back to New York."
It was a slow quiet walk back home that night. I didn't have to get home by a curfew since my mom left with Emma to attend some work conference in Pennsylvania.
Flashes of Luke's face disheveled from crying haunted my most recent thoughts.
I ran my hands through my hair repeatedly, trying to build up the courage to actually call him. After rounding the final corner onto my street, I fished my phone out of my pocket and dialed.
As I suspected it would, his phone went straight to voicemail. "Hey Jess, it's Cass. I just really wanted to tell you that I'm not mad, but I just really want to hear your voice, just to make sure you're–"
I cut myself off mid-sentence when I noticed that my front door was unlocked.
"That's weird, I always lock the door. Hey, I'm gonna have to call you back."
AN: Hey, everyone. I am so sorry that it took so long to update, but here's your long deprived chapter!
-taylor's version 2.0