April 17th

"I must be seeing things, is Jess Mariano really out in a non-school setting?" Peter feigned shock as Jess and Rory approached him in the park Saturday morning.

As of last night, Jess had officially served his time on house arrest and when he had woken that morning he had wasted no time in getting away from the house that he had gotten to know all too well in the last two weeks.

"Yeah and I've got my first shift back at the diner at noon so let's go play some basketball or something," Jess urged, needing to blow off some pent-up energy.

From his side Rory rolled her eyes, "I can't believe Lane left me with you two all day," she complained, already bored with the boys' plans.

"Hey you could have joined Mrs. Kim's travelling choir too," Jess teased with a smirk.

"I think Mrs. Kim made the group specifically to get Lane away from my bad influence and all you unwashed boys."

"I still remember her face when she found out Luke and Lorelai were getting married and I'd be at the house every time you and Lane had sleepovers," Jess laughed.

"That wasn't funny! It took her nine months before she could finally be convinced to let Lane spend the night again," Rory frowned, remembering her past misery.

"Yeah well at least you can be seen around Lane!" Pete complained, "I still have to hide every time Mrs. Kim's within view!"

"Well letting her precious daughter near one boy is bad enough. It's going to take another ten years before she would even start considering letting you around. That is unless you can transform into a Korean doctor-to-be overnight," Rory pointed out.

Pete shrugged, "Maybe I'll find out I was adopted."

At that, the teens had made it the short walk to the basketball court behind the school. It was still relatively early and most of the kids that frequented the court were still in bed, leaving the place empty. Jess usually liked doing things without a crowd, however, basketball was one of the few activities he actually preferred when there were a few more guys around to make the game more interesting.

"I guess we'll play one-on-one," Pete shrugged, tossing his ball to Jess.

"That's not much of a challenge for me, though," Jess smirked, tossing the ball back to Pete.

"Excuse me! That's awfully big talk coming from you," Pete yelled back, throwing the ball at Jess' shoulder as Jess dodged it skillfully.

Rory read from the sidelines as the boys played and playfully yelled insults and profanities at each other on the court. It didn't take long for the match to intensify and Jess found himself getting lost in the game easily. It was one thing he loved about basketball; when he played he could forget everything. There was no stress about Chilton, or work, or disappointed parents, it was all about the game.

He was so lost, in fact, that he almost didn't notice another taller and lankier boy that he had never seen before approaching the asphalt, causing the heated game between friends to stall and Rory to look up from the book she had been reading. Finally another player to make things more interesting, Jess thought, waiting for the boy to get close enough to talk to.

The teen, however, did not approach to join the game. Instead, he crossed the pavement, smiling kindly at Rory, "Whatcha reading?"

"Uh," Rory blushed, fully looking at the unfamiliar boy for the first time and blushing a bit too obviously. Within seconds Jess was over at the bleachers to access the situation.

"You'll have to excuse Rory, she tends to zone out when she's in the middle of a good book," Jess explained, gaze burning into the boy as he tried to read him.

"It's fine, I think it's cute," he shot Rory another soft smile, causing her blush to deepen, "I'm Dean," he finally introduced, extending his hand out to the girl.

Rory stared dumbly at the hand, but her own remained unmoved.

"Jess, Pete, Rory," Jess interrupted the flirting and gestured to his friends, "Now if you don't mind, we have a game to get back to."

"Oh, do you mind if I jump in too?" Dean asked still not noticing Jess' obvious wariness of him, or choosing to ignore it.

"Two on one? It wouldn't really work," Pete cut in, reading Jess' defensiveness and hoping to have a more polite response than what his friend's might have been.

"Maybe Rory could play too," Dean offered, causing Rory to shake out of her daze.

"Me?"

"Rory, playing basketball?" Jess barked out a laugh, "I don't think-"

"Sure," Rory cut him off, "I mean, I'm not very good, but if it would even up the teams."

"I'm sure you're just fine, I can even give you some pointers if you want," Dean offered sweetly.

Rory smiled dumbly again, causing Jess' stomach to twist and as Pete and Dean passed, he shot his sister a dumbfounded look. Rory only shrugged in response, obviously still a bit embarrassed by her evident flirting.

Jess shook his head as he followed the other three back onto the court. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of his sister having a crush. Not one bit.

"Jess? Hey Jess, snap out of it!" Luke waved his hand in front of his nephew's face later that afternoon, "I know you haven't had a shift in few weeks, but that doesn't mean I won't send you home if you're slacking off. I've done it before."

"Sorry," Jess tried to look apologetic, though to be honest, he had barely registered his uncle's scolding.

"Are you feeling okay?" The man asked, now concerned by his nephew's reserved response. Not that he didn't appreciate the lack of smart remark from the boy, but it wasn't his nephew without one either.

"Fine," Jess huffed, "Didn't Rory say she was dropping by this afternoon?"

"I don't know, you were the last one to see her, bud," Luke shrugged, looking through his order pad, "It's only two. Didn't you say she was showing some new kid around town?"

"Yeah," Jess spat.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

"Just dandy," Jess sighed.

Luke furrowed his brows at the teen's odd behaviour, but let it go, "Why don't you go wash a few dishes in the back, it's slow out here. Maybe the water will wake you up a bit."

Jess hated washing dishes, but he knew his bad mood was going to get him in trouble eventually if he didn't take the out, "Sure," he agreed, shrugging past the man towards the kitchen.

In the end, the duty was a great way to get his frustration out and picturing each dish as Dean's head really made for a pile of extra sparkling plates in the end.

Feeling better after finishing the task, Jess made his way back out to the front with high hopes that the rest of his shift would be brighter.

That is until the bell above the door chimed and an extra giggly sister walked through with the new kid in tow.

"Hey Rory and- oh," Luke greeted, eyes landing on her new friend.

"Luke this is Dean, he's new in town," Rory introduced.

"Uh, Jess didn't mention, I mean I thought, uh, hi," he extended his hand to the fifteen-year-old, "Luke Danes, Rory's step-father."

Jess watched the exchange, biting back a chuckle. At least he wasn't the only one with mixed feelings about the new kid.

"Nice to meet you," Dean nodded respectfully and Jess rolled his eyes at the act, "Hey Jess."

He gave a curt nod in response and as Luke looked from Dean to Jess, the teen was sure that his uncle had finally clued in to where his less than stellar attitude had come from.

"So, um, what can I get you two?" Luke finally asked as Rory chose a stool and gestured for Dean to take the one beside her.

"Well, I was telling Dean all about your amazing chili fries!" The girl smiled.

"Two chili fries coming up," Luke nodded, disappearing into the kitchen and leaving Jess alone in front of the pair.

"I took Dean to Andrew's Jess. He told me to let you know your order just came in. I would have got it for you, but you still haven't paid me back for the last ones," she rolled her eyes, but it was evident that she wasn't really mad.

"No, I kept my mouth shut about that stray cat you snuck into our old apartment last month and you said we were even!" Jess reminded.

"Jess! Not so loud!" Rory admonished, looking past him to make sure Luke was still out of earshot.

"Relax, it's not like it's still up there."

"No, but he's still trying to figure out why he sneezes every time he goes up there. I swear I cleaned every bit of cat hair!"

"That cat shed like crazy, you'll still be cleaning cat hair for at least ten years."

Dean smiled as he watched the exchange, "You two are good siblings."

"What?" Jess snuffed, nearly forgetting that Stretch was still there.

"I mean, I have a little sister, she's eight, and we're constantly fighting," Dean elaborated.

"Well, Jess and I were best friends before we became siblings, that probably helps," Rory shrugs.

Dean shook his head, "That's lucky."

"Yeah, well I better get back to work," Jess excused himself, feeling angry even though the boy had said nothing that should have caused it. Honestly, Dean seemed like a great guy, the kind that anyone would be proud to take home to meet their parents, yet Jess just couldn't shake the dislike that seemed to develop the second he saw his sister blush.

Jess was in the front yard working his frustration out through his basketball when Rory came up the driveway with a goofy grin still plastered to her face.

"Where were you," he accused as soon as he saw her, "I worked today and I still got home before you!"

"I got pizza with Dean, I let mom know," Rory frowned, matching her brother's.

"You spent the whole day with Dean," he said, more of a statement than anything else.

"Yeah, so?" she responded with a shrug, "He just moved here, he doesn't know anybody."

"So of course you take him right under your wing like a good little girl scout," Jess snapped.

"What is your problem! Dean's a good guy and you've been snippy with him since you first met!"

It was a question Jess didn't really know how to answer, but he was too heated to care, "I'm just saying you could do better."

"What do you mean 'do better?' We're just friends Jess!"

"Yeah? Your face has been mighty red all day and you've never been willing to play basketball when Pete has asked you," he shrugged coldly.

"I wasn't just going to let you leave him out. God Jess, you're acting like a mad person."

"Not as mad as you in front of jerk-face," he knew he sounded twelve at this point, but he was past caring.

"Ugh, just shut up, Jess!" Rory huffed, stomping towards the house.

"Going to write Mrs Rory Forester a hundred times in your diary!?" Jess yelled after her, but she didn't turn back.

Just as she reached the door, Jess on her tail, Lorelai opened it, "Hey, what's all the yelling about? You guys are going to have Babette on our doorstep."

Rory continued through the door, pushing past her mom and slamming her door faintly in the background.

"Jess?" Lorelai turned to him in complete confusion.

He shook his head in response, "It's nothing, forget about it." He promised, out of steam and tired. He passed the woman as well and disappeared through his door a second later, a softer click than the girl's as he closed it behind him.

Lorelai was left standing on the front step, unsure of what exactly just happened. It's not like the kids fought all that often.

As if on cue, Babette emerged on her front porch, "Hey Suga! Everything okay over there!?"

"Yes Babette! Everything's fine!" she waved her off, re-entering the house and closing the door. "Just a house full of teenagers," she mumbled the last part to herself, heading into the kitchen to make a strong pot of coffee.

April 18th

The next day Luke had taken Rory into Hartford on a supply run for the diner. She had still been upset and the parents had decided that both kids could use a one-on-one day with each of the adults. Lorelai was sure that by the time she got home Luke would have worked his magic and her daughter would be as good as new.

The pair had discussed the boy issue the previous night in bed. Lorelai hadn't actually seen the new kid, but from Luke's description he seemed like a nice enough guy once the shock of seeing Rory with a boy that wasn't Jess or one of his friends wore off. Neither of them were particularly ready for the young girl to start dating, but they both agreed that so far it seemed harmless and they would rather her tell them about it than forbid her and have her sneaking around. It was going to happen eventually. Jess had already had a few innocent crushes and at their age none of the relationships lasted very long anyway.

Jess. That kid was another story.

Honestly, Lorelai found it cute that he was so protective of his sister, even if he wasn't showing it in the most loving way. She understood where he was coming from and she knew eventually he would come around and get used to the idea, just as she and Luke would as well. The sulking in his room, though, needed to stop, and Lorelai was up to the challenge of cheering up the fifteen-year-old.

"Jess!" She called, rapping loudly on the teen's door, "Come on Jess! It's a beautiful day and I need your help with my errands!"

Hearing no response, the lady sighed and pushed the door open, not caring that she wasn't invited.

"Ok dude, come on, we're going to town!" she ordered, pulling the boy up from where he was lounging on his bed with a book.

"I don't feel like it, go without me," Jess mumbled, still trying to read the page while Lorelai was pulling at his arm.

"You're telling me that you've been stuck in this house for two weeks and now you're going to willingly spend the day in here?"

He gave the woman a tired look, knowing that she wasn't going to let up, "Why do you care anyway, it's Sunday, y'know the day of rest."

"I care because I don't want to watch any kid sulking around the house all day and I'm scared that if I leave you all alone I might come back to Dean's head on a stake," she gave him a knowing look.

He didn't say anything for a while, hating that he was letting the whole thing bother him.

"We're not going to lose her because she likes a boy you know," Lorelai spoke up when he wouldn't.

"I don't care if she likes a boy, just... not him."

She laughed at that, "Ohhh buddy, believe me, no boy is going to be good enough."

He sighed in defeat.

"And no girl will be good enough for you either, kid," she added as an afterthought, "But I'm still going to let you date, okay?"

"Fine," he agreed, accepting that he may have acted a bit ridiculous, "That doesn't mean I'll ever like him though."

"But you'll be nice, right?"

His face pleaded with her, but she shot him her best 'mom look' in response.

"Maybe it would be best if I just stayed away from him altogether," he finally decided.

The woman laughed, shaking her head, "Kid, you're something else. What am I going to do with you?"

"I believe you were going to take me for ice-cream," he smirked in response.

"Oh... fine! But only because I want some too! You don't win this one bucko!"

April 19th

The weekend was over all too fast for Jess' liking, even with having Friday off. He and Rory still hadn't exactly made up and they hadn't spoken to each other since the big blow up in the yard. Lorelai's talk the day before had made Jess realize that he had been ridiculous and wrong, but he has also always been stubborn and he wasn't exactly ready to admit to the girl that the way he had acted might have been out of line.

Instead, Rory had spent the school day with Lane, and Jess was just fine with the company of Pete.

"I swear I'd love to punch him in that pretty face of his," Jess vented to his friend when they passed Dean in the hallway just before lunch.

Pete laughed, "You never would. Luke would be pissed at you for most likely getting suspended and Rory would probably never speak to you again."

"Well I can imagine it at least," he huffed in response.

Just as the boys were getting ready to head to lunch, Lane found them and Jess became concerned when she seemed to be rushing over to them.

"What's up with you?" he asked when she was in earshot.

The girl looked torn, but after a silent war with herself, it seemed that she gave in, "I know you and Rory are in some sort of fight right now, and she told me not to bother telling you, but I know you'd want to know, so I'm telling you anyway, because this fight you're in is dumb, and this is big news, and I know she'll want you to know either way and-"

"Lane!" he cut her off from her nervous rambling, "What is it?"

Composing herself she took in a deep breath, "Principal Merton wanted to meet with her during lunch about Chilton."

Jess felt his heart speed up for his sister, "Did he say if she was in or not?"

"I'm guessing that's what she'll find out in the meeting," she pointed out.

"Well, did he sound like it was positive or negative?" he pressed for details.

"It was a note."

Jess sighed, realizing if he wanted more info he'd have to go meet his sister. Leaving his two friends, he set off in the direction of the principal's office. Upon arriving he noticed that Rory was nowhere in sight and he concluded that she must already be inside. Catching his breath from the brisk walk, he took a seat in one of the chairs that lined the outside of the office and waited.

"Mr. Mariano?" the receptionist called when she noticed Jess taking a seat, "What did you do this time?"

"Nothing!" he responded annoyed that everyone always assumed he was in trouble, "I'm waiting for my sister."

He knew that Rory didn't want to speak to him at the moment, but it didn't stop Jess from knowing he had to be there for her no matter the outcome. She wanted this more than anything and fight or not he would be there to celebrate or pick up the pieces, whichever it would be. He just hoped more than anything it would be the former.

The meeting seemed to have gone on forever and Jess wished he had decided to eat lunch first when his stomach let out a loud growl involuntarily. Finally, after what felt like forever the door opened and his sister emerged, showing no sign of joy or sadness. As soon as she spotted her brother she stalked over to him.

"I told Lane not to tell you," she rolled her eyes without so much as a hello.

"Well, did he tell you? Are you in?"

"What do you care anyway?"

"Come on Rory, just tell me! I've been waiting out here forever!"

She stared her brother down for a moment before a small smile cracked through her face.

"You did it," Jess' face lit up, "You got in, didn't you!?"

"I got in," Rory confirmed, still trying to hold back her smile, but failing miserably.

"I knew it! I told you!"

"So this means we'll be going to the same school next year, right?" Rory pressed her brother, knowing he still hadn't agreed.

"Ugh not you too! Come on Ror this is supposed to be a happy occasion!"

"Yes and I'd be a whole lot happier if you'd just decide that you were attending Chilton once and for all!"

"Just drop it, Rory. Come on, I'll buy you a piece of celebratory pie, I'm starving!"

"Jess!"

"Rory!"

A/N- Just for the record, before I get into anything else, Jess and Rory are not going to have feelings for each other in this story. Jess' jealousy is purely due to the fact that he is protective of Rory as any brother would be. I know some people were still hoping that they would have a relationship in this and I hope you guys understand that since they grew up together it just wouldn't work. Hopefully nobody will be too put out by that.

I was debating whether to have Rory get into Chilton or wait a couple months after school started for a position to open up for her, but ultimately I wanted her and Jess to attend the first day together and so it was finally time to make the decision.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and please review if you can! Seriously even a two word review would make my day! I feel like this story might be losing some of it's following. Thanks!