April 1st

"Jess... Jess. JESS."

Jess was snapped out of his daydream, turning from the window where the sun shone a perfect spring day. Too perfect to be cooped up in a classroom that was for sure. Rory had been keeping a better eye on her brother lately, however, and she was making it much harder for him to skip classes. He had just been thinking that perhaps he could cut out after English. The siblings didn't have science together, the only class they didn't share, and it was the perfect time to skip out without his sister's judgemental eyes on him. He was only allowing himself one skipped period a week now. Luke had been starting to get irritated from the constant detention slips and though he didn't know about the missed classes, Jess knew his luck would run out eventually. He needed to be more careful. His breaks wouldn't be worth much if it meant that his free time would be taken up by being grounded to the house.

"Jess Mariano," his history teacher called once more from the front of the class. It was only then that he noticed all eyes were on him, "Are we boring you, Jess?"

Yes was the short answer. Jess had zoned out as they were discussing World War I and though that in itself wasn't exactly considered boring, Jess had already read more books than he could count on the subject and he was sure come test time he would ace it no problem. His history teacher was an okay guy, however, and Jess didn't feel the need to be hostile towards him.

"I was listening," he lied.

"Were you?" the man raised his eyebrows in doubt, "There will be a test on the subject on Tuesday and you need to know this."

"I was listening," Jess repeated.

"Ok Jess, what year did the war start?"

Jess expected the questioning and replied easily, his decision to curb the hostility now out the window. "Well the answer's right on the blackboard, 1914, but if you want to be more specific it was July 28th. However, many would argue that it initially started on June 28th when a Serbian terrorist assassinated the Austria/Hungarian Archduke. It ended November 11th, 1918 by the way, oh sorry it looks like you haven't gotten to that part yet, didn't mean to spoil the big finale."

The teacher sighed as Jess looked expectantly to the man, "Thank you, Jess, that will be quite enough. I'm glad you seem to already know the material, but I would still appreciate it if you paid attention."

Jess smirked to himself as everyone turned back to the front of the room and the teacher continued his lesson. He loved to watch the teacher's face go from pompous to annoyed in two seconds flat when they tried to stump him with a question, only for Jess to prove them wrong. He looked over at Rory who was still looking at him, shaking her head slightly, yet Jess could tell she had been equally amused by the entire scene.

Once the bell rang, Jess exited quickly, glad to finally be free from the room. Rory caught up to him, her books hastily stacked in her hands, "You're unbelievable, you know that?" she smirked.

"Hey, they should really learn not to doubt my abilities by now."

"Never doubt the great Jess Mariano," Rory joked with an impressed smile, "You know, you're really lucky you have all that information stored up in that big head of yours, I noticed you zoned out a good thirty minutes before he called on you."

"What can I say," Jess shrugged cockily.

"I have something to say, it's not fair! I'm going to have to study hours for that test on Tuesday and you're just going to float through like you always do," she rolled her eyes.

"And yet still you prevent me from cutting a few pointless classes."

"Yeah, because if you don't have good attendance they'll hold you back anyway, no matter how good your grades are," She pointed out, "Plus you skipped way too many social studies classes in a row and you almost failed those two tests, remember?"

"So I miscalculated," the boy shrugged, "Besides, he threw in questions that were specific to class discussion. That wasn't fair."

"It was totally fair if you attended those classes," Rory rolled her eyes once more, "Now come on, we have English and I know that's one class you actually like."

English was pretty much the only class Jess did pay attention in, and also the only class he never skipped. Most of the books they read he had already read more than once, yet the class discussions were usually interesting enough, even if the boneheads in his school didn't know good literature if it smacked them in the face. He also enjoyed writing. The essays were no problem for the literati and the teacher, Mrs Truly, was a pretty cool lady who always enjoyed hearing Jess' opinions on various topics. She always asked about the new books Jess and Rory brought into class with them, smiling when the books would be different from one class to the next. When she had first noticed just how much the two seemed to read, she even allowed them, on occasion, to do separate assignments from the rest of the class, wishing to challenge them on books they hadn't read twenty times before. Jess never felt bored in her class and he appreciated that.

English class had relaxed Jess a lot, and when class was over, Jess actually felt pretty content. He considered the possibility of staying for the last period, even if just to continue his reading in the back. Though, when he parted ways with Rory the urge to enjoy the spring day before his shift at the diner won out and Jess found himself heading for the back door instead.

The warm breeze hit his face and Jess breathed in the fresh air. Between English class and this, he could definitely feel his day turning brighter and instantly he was happy that he hadn't dragged himself to the science lab. The fresh air was certainly more enjoyable than the formaldehyde scent that clung to the lab walls.

Jess took the short walk to the bridge with ease. Enjoying the first nice day in a while and longing for the summer months when he could be free of books and classrooms altogether. When he eventually reached the bridge, he sat down and stretched out his legs, letting one foot dangle over the edge, just skimming the water. He cracked open his book and lost himself in the world within the pages.

The voices didn't register with him immediately. The story was getting to the climax and his ravenous reading had distracted him too intensely. When the sound finally did break through his trance he shot up in a second.

Sookie's giggling is what gave them away first, followed by the distinct sound of Lorelai's hyper chirping. Grabbing his things, Jess dashed to the nearby shrubs and awaited their presence.

"Ugh I'm glad Taylor's decided to raise money to fix this rickety old thing," Lorelai's voice broke through the air as she and Sookie finally came into view, "I know Jess and Rory love to hang out here, but I'll feel a lot better once it doesn't look like it's going to fall apart from under them anymore."

"I know. I tripped on a loose board over there the other day and nearly fell head first into the lake," Sookie divulged. Jess could argue that loose board or not, Sookie would find a way to fall head first into the lake, but his attempts to stay still and quiet pushed those thoughts from his mind.

He was irritated. Lorelai never walked back to town this way. Usually, she took the dirt road that lead straight back to the center of town. His relaxing afternoon of reading was rudely interrupted and now he was one wrong move away from getting caught. His calves were getting sore from the crouched position he was in and as luck would have it the girls had found a frog near the edge of the bridge that caused them to stop and admire.

"Aw look at the little guy bathing in the sun," Lorelai gushed.

"He is pretty adorable," Sookie agreed.

"Hey, I dare you to kiss it," Lorelai smiled widely, suddenly getting excited, "Ooh! Maybe he will turn into your Prince Charming!"

"Ew! I'm not kissing a frog!" Sookie declared, "If that's how I have to find my Prince Charming then I'll stay single forever."

"Aw c'mon," Lorelai nagged, "Just a little kissy-kissy."

Jess' legs were failing him, the strain burning the back of his calves like fire as he watched the scene before him. Without warning they gave out from underneath him, causing him to fall on his butt none too gently and the bushes in front of him rustled with betrayal.

"What was that?" Sookie asked, turning from where they were crouched beside the frog.

"I don't know," Lorelai spoke and Jess' heart raced as he attempted to keep as still as possible lying on his back. From the edge of the bush, he could make out the women moving to get up. Suddenly the giant frog that they had been admiring jumped to life, landing on Lorelai's foot. Both ladies shrieked as Lorelai shook her foot, causing the frog to fly through the air and rest near the front of the bush that protected Jess. The two women dashed away as Lorelai cried about needing to disinfect her foot.

When he could no longer hear their frivolous yells, Jess let out his breath slowly, never realizing how hard he was holding it. He stayed lying in the grass while he waited for his pulse to return to normal before finally getting up. School was just ending, he realized as he looked at his watch. Collecting his things once more Jess headed in the direction of the diner, not wanting to be late for his shift and causing Luke any suspicion. He silently thanked the giant frog as he passed it by and it croaked loudly in response. That was close. Too close.

Jess made it to the diner just as the school crowd had filtered out of the building across the street. He saw his uncle at a table taking an order and nodded in his direction, heading behind the counter to set down his things and grab a coffee pot. Luke approached him a moment later.

"Hey, how was school?" he asked handing the order to the kitchen.

"Fine," was Jess' go-to answer. He figured by now Luke only asked him that out of habit instead of expecting any sort of in-depth answer.

"Good, well those tables could use refills and then- why do you have leaves in your hair?" the man furrowed his brow as he grabbed the plants from his nephew's head.

He was taken off guard for a second, throwing his hand to his head where indeed there were leaves clinging to his hair. Quickly Jess scrunched up his face in annoyance, "That jerk Presby threw a bag of leaves on my head. Who even does a project on leaves to begin with?"

"Seriously?" Luke answered, shaking his head, "Jeez you at that Presby kid have been at each other's throats since elementary school. What did you do to him?"

"Nothing! I've never done anything to him, he's just a jerk," the boy complained. "Who cares anyway, it's just leaves, right?"

"I guess," Luke nodded, although he didn't like the idea of some kid picking on his nephew.

"Well I better fill up their coffee," Jess reminded, motioning towards the customers.

"Yeah, go on," Luke nodded, stepping out of the teen's way, "Table three needs a wipe down, do that once you're done.

Jess nodded as he got to work. He hoped that would be the last of his close calls for the day.

After work, Jess and Luke walked home together, dinner in hand since both boys had agreed they were too hungry to wait for Luke to cook something once they got home.

"Dinner's here!" Jess called when they walked through the front door, Luke giving him an annoyed look at his unnecessary volume.

Luke pushed past him towards the kitchen to set the bags down and Jess went in the direction of the living room. As he turned the corner Rory popped her head up from where she was sitting on the couch with a textbook in her hand, "Where were you after school? I was waiting for you!"

"I worked at the diner today, you know that," Jess reminded her.

"You must have left pretty fast because I didn't see you anywhere and my classroom was right next to your locker."

"Mr Carlton released us a few minutes early since we finished our lab," Jess lied, knowing that it was better not to divulge his misdeeds to the girl this time, "I would have waited for you, but you know that Luke hates it when I'm late."

"Fine," Rory sighed, "But I wanted to show you the CD Lane found at the record shop in Woodbridge!"

"You can show me after supper, I'm starving!" Jess promised, ushering the girl into the kitchen where Luke and Lorelai had gotten the plates and utensils out.

As the family sat down to their Chinese feast, the topic turned to stories of their day.

"Lane and I went to the bridge after school to look for rocks for our science project, but there wasn't many there," Rory recalled to her family.

"You should try over by Larson's dock," Luke suggested, "There's that little rock beach over there."

"Oh yeah! I forgot about that place!" Rory smiled, "We'll have to go check it out tomorrow."

"Hey, speaking of that bridge, I don't think you kids should be hanging around there so much anymore, I think there's a bear or something living there!" Lorelai warned seriously.

"A bear?" Luke furrowed his brow, "What makes you think that?"

Lorelai shrugged, "I don't know. There was definitely something rustling in the bushes when Sookie and I walked by earlier."

"I think if it was a bear you would have seen it through the bush Mom," Rory pointed out, "Maybe it was a rabbit or a bird."

Jess tried his best to keep his expression neutral, not feeling like he was in any danger of the truth coming out now.

"Possibly," Lorelai reasoned, "I still think you two should be careful though, that old bridge is falling apart."

"Speaking of the old bridge, Taylor called me today," Luke all but rolled his eyes, "Was asking if I knew anything about the bridge repair donations going missing."

"He will not get over the fact that I stole a few candy bars from him when I was twelve!" Jess shook his head. Every time something happened in the town since then, Taylor always seemed to think it was somehow Jess' doing, "I hope this isn't your way of asking if I took it?"

"Of course not, I know you wouldn't do that. I think your days of stealing are long over," Luke assured.

"That's for sure," Jess agreed, remembering just how much trouble he had gotten into the last time he had attempted a career in theft.

"I hope you told him where he could stick it," Lorelai snarled, shaking her head. She knew their boy was good and she hated that although most of the town now looked out for him and loved him just as they did Rory, others still judged him so harshly for things he had done when he was younger and misguided. Hell, didn't everyone do dumb stuff when they were young, regardless of their upbringing?

"He won't be calling around the diner anytime soon," Luke assured with a nod.

"Good," Lorelai replied firmly, "I'm still sitting on that bit of blackmail I have on him. He knows I saw what his grandson did to the drinking fountain last summer. He better not push my buttons!"

"He wouldn't dream of it," Luke chuckled, grabbing the empty plate from in front of his wife and carrying it to the sink along with his.

As Rory finished off the last of her own plate she looked eagerly to Jess, "Can Jess and I be excused? I still want to show him that CD."

"Go ahead," Luke agreed, "We'll clean up here."

"Thanks!" Rory smiled, grabbing Jess' hand and dragging him into her room.

Jess allowed himself to be pulled without a fuss. The thought of spending the night listening to music with his surrogate sister didn't sound half bad after a long, stressful day. Closing his eyes, he found peace in the lyrics and melodies.

April 2nd

Luke was busy in the diner the next morning. For some reason late Friday mornings were habitually a busy time for the place and Luke felt like he hadn't stopped since he had stepped through the doors. He was just placing a plate down in front of a customer while noting a request for more peanut butter from one table over when the phone rang and one of his part-timers called him over, informing the man that it was for him. Sighing, Luke set down the coffee pot he held in one hand, gave direction to the younger man to bring peanut butter over to the awaiting customer and took the phone.

"Luke Danes," he greeted as he pressed the phone to his ear.

"Mr. Danes? This is Principal Merton from Stars Hollow High. I'm calling in regard to your nephew Jess Mariano?"

Luke let out a heavy sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He had to admit it had been a while since he had received a call from the school, yet still, he couldn't help but feel annoyed with his nephew anyway.

"What happened?" he finally asked in a tired voice.

"I'm actually calling to set up a meeting with you," the man informed.

"What's going on?" Luke questioned once more, growing concerned.

"I really do feel that this conversation would be best had in person Mr. Danes," the principal pressed, "Would you be able to come over to the school later today?"

Sighing once more Luke nodded, only then realizing that the man on the other end couldn't see him. "Just tell me what time works best and I'll be there."

"Wonderful. Would noon work for you?"

"That should be fine," Luke agreed.

"Wonderful," the principal repeated causing a shot of annoyance to pass through Luke. The guy had managed to use that word twice within the last ten seconds when, in fact, nothing about the situation felt all that 'wonderful.' "So we'll see you at noon."

Before Luke had the chance to respond the principal had hung up, leaving Luke standing in front of the phone with dread. He had no clue what the man wanted to discuss and he sort of wished he had divulged a bit more information about their meeting. There was only about an hour until he was supposed to be there, however, leaving Luke just enough time to worry about just what his nephew had gotten up to now.

A/N- Ooh! What do you think he wants to discuss!?

Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter! I'm glad so many of you were happy about the Uncle/Nephew and Mother/Daughter days! And to those concerned, yes they do have special days with the opposite kid as well! None of those days are a scheduled thing, but they do try and do it as much as possible! (I actually thought I put that in the chapter, but I suppose it was just floating around in my brain and never made it haha)

Also, to the person who reviewed about Jess' age and grade, I did think long and hard about that when I was first deciding his birthday. The US school system always confuses me because in Canada we start school at four and if your birthday is past September you can start at 3 or wait a year until your four. However, it seems the US has a whole bunch of different rules. Either way it confused me a great deal! When deciding Jess' birthday I tried to look up when it might have been in the show, but I couldn't find anything! After I had written in his birthday of course this big post comes up with a bunch of theories of when his birthday was and now I wish I would have made it in August/September because it would have made more sense. Especially because we know in the show Rory and Jess were in the same grade. I can't go back now, however! So we're just going to have to ignore it and in my mind Liz was just negligent and didn't even realize Jess needed to be in school until a year later! :)

As always reviews are appreciated.