September 8th

"You're still doing homework?" Rory asked the next day as she sat beside Jess on the bus, the older messily scribbling something into a workbook.

"Luke made me go to bed at ten last night," he informed as if that alone gave all the answers.

"I went to bed at ten too," she shrugged.

"Yeah and you spent the entire night since we got home doing homework. You realize we're never going to have a social life again, right?"

"You're being dramatic," she shook her head, "You heard the teachers, the first week's going to be intense because they want to make sure everyone's in the same place. The work's going to die down."

"That's what they say," his eyebrows rose though he was now smirking. Instead of elaborating he changed the subject. "I'm so looking forward to seeing Paris and Tristan today."

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to getting death glares and having to correct my name one million times."

"You know he's only doing that to bug you, he knows your name, just like he knows that my name's not 'Prep', which by the way, does not match my personality at all.

Rory giggled, "You are probably the furthest thing from a prep at that school."

Jess shook his head thoughtfully, "How did my test scores even get around the school that fast?"

"I don't know, but for some strange reason I have a feeling Paris has something to do with it."

"She runs the school remember," Jess jested sarcastically causing Rory to laugh.

"How could I forget?"

The morning of day two was a lot easier than that of day one. Knowing where everything was being the main factor in things running a lot smoother. Jess already felt the weight from the day before lifting if not just slightly from his shoulders. Metaphorically speaking of course since the straps from his backpack still dug into his shoulders uncomfortably from the heavy textbooks he was carrying around. He would need to work through lunch if he planned to get enough work done during school to give himself any kind of a life once he got home. Working through lunch, he shook his head at the thought, who was he and where had Jess gone?

He exited second period with a game plan in mind. So far, he had an essay to write and six math questions to answer. Not so bad if each question didn't involve an a, b, c, d, e, and f. Still, he figured if he got the problems done during lunch, and the essay during study period, thus nixing what he usually dubbed 'reading period', he would probably only have an hour and a half of additional homework once he got home. It would still leave him enough time for a few games of basketball with Pete before curfew.

Just as he was getting excited at the prospect of free time, Jess was shaken from his thoughts as he turned and saw Paris cornering Rory down the hall. He rolled his eyes, 'what's this about now?', he thought to himself as he picked up his pace.

"I just wanted to make sure you weren't planning on going out for the school paper."

"Yeah," Rory pulled back the strap on her book bag and blinked with a dumb mock, "And I've already told you that I haven't decided yet. Right now all that's on my mind is getting through the first week."

"Everything okay here?" Jess knew his sister could stand her own, but that didn't stop him from putting himself between the two agitated girls.

"You know they only tell you the first week is the hardest so that small town transfers like you don't get overwhelmed. It's not going to be any easier by week two," Paris paid no attention to the new participant in their conversation. "I'd think long and hard about how much you can handle before committing to something and then backing out when you get buried in textbooks."

Whipping herself around, she took off down the hall.

"What was that all about?" an amused smirk danced on Jess' lips.

"Apparently Paris is threatened by me." A stray hair fell in front of her eye and she brushed it away as she walked, knowing Jess would follow.

"You're going to try out for the paper right? Telling Paris you didn't know, that was just getting her off your back?"

Rory's eyes averted as she shifted her books uncomfortably in her arms, "I don't know, I mean she has a point. What if it does get too much? Sure I was on the paper at Stars Hollow High, but I was also weeks ahead in my classes. Dropping an extracurricular halfway through the year doesn't look good to colleges."

"You won't need to drop it. She was just trying to scare you," His assuring brown eyes promised.

The look on her face was that of unconvinced, though after a pause she let a small smile pull at the corners of her mouth, "Why don't you join with me? We could keep each other motivated and hey two of us against one Paris couldn't hurt either!"

He was shaking his head before she got her whole speech out, completely certain that adding additional work to his pile would be a sure sign of insanity in anyone that wasn't Rory Gilmore.

"Oh come on Jess! I don't want to hear that it would be too much work because you just assured me that it wouldn't be!"

"Yeah, for you! Do I really look like the kind of guy who willingly does extra homework?"

"You're the kind of guy that's an amazing writer. C'mon Jess you can't deny that. You actively LIKE to write! It would be the perfect opportunity for you to get an extracurricular credit!"

She was getting excited now and if those begging puppy eyes weren't directed at him he would have teased her about it.

"Rory."The warning had no fire behind it, but the irritation was dripping.

"Just say you'll think about it," she compromised, reaching her classroom and stopping before turning in.

He rolled his eyes as the bell rang, signalling he was late for his own class. "Fine, okay?"

She smiled wide, turning quickly into her room without another word. He shook his head as he jogged down the hall. He only said it to get her off his back for the time being, he told himself stubbornly.

September 10th

"Okay remember, small talk, nothing heavy, nothing controversial. They're going to twist our words no matter what we say, don't give them too many openings."

Jess wasn't sure if Lorelai was coaching them anymore, or instead having an inner battle of her own. He only knew that the days leading up to the first Friday night dinner had been tense and Lorelai had been in a downward spiral since the prior evening. He heard his aunt and uncle late into the night discussing her worries, Luke assuring and reassuring that nothing that happened there would, in fact, be the end of the world, yet Jess' stomach still swam with guilt as he listened to her concerns. She was doing this all for them, after all. It hit him as he listened to the woman confide her anxieties, somewhat dramatically, to her husband that she was sacrificing a great deal for her kids. Flipping his pillow to the cooler side and turning over, Jess had stubbornly lectured himself to appreciate his new school more from now on. He may have to put up with some things that he did not enjoy, but at least nobody was making him eat dinner with his mother every Friday night from now until forever. Yeah, that would definitely suck.

For that reason alone, Jess hadn't said a word as he was made to put on a suit directly after walking through the doors when he got home from school. Nor did he participate in the grandparent bashing that took place on the drive over, when even Rory had thrown a few complaints out. Instead, he had sat still in the car, quietly coaching himself to the fact that Luke was right, whatever happened in that house was not going to affect their day to day lives. They just needed to put up with whatever nonsense the elders threw at them every week and move on. If they didn't let it bug them then none of it would matter.

It was easier said than done. By the time the drinks were being ordered, he had already found the need to bite his tongue.

"Rory, Jess, what will you be drinking?" Emily began her hostess duties.

"Just a club soda, please," came Rory's mouse-like voice.

He felt the cold stare on him next, his fingers pressed tightly together, dancing through each other the only way he could relieve the nervous energy.

"Coke?"

"How about water?" she offered instead.

"Sounds perfect." His reply wasn't meant to sound sarcastic and he hoped it hadn't. He briefly wondered if the house really was void of soda or if Emily had been prepared to nix whatever his first choice would have been on principle alone.

By some gift from God, Jess hadn't been subjected to any direct questioning by either elder for the rest of the cocktail hour. He sat straight in his seat, feeling Rory shift every so often from the spot beside him. She hadn't been so lucky, unfortunately, though she also had a way of handling her grandparents that Jess didn't think he would ever learn.

By the time the maid's presence appeared in the room and it was announced that dinner was served, Jess graciously rose. They weren't out of the woods, but at least he would now have something to do with his hands which had become clammy and cold, the piece of skin next to the nail on his big thumb nearly stripped off absentmindedly. A nervous habit he could never seem to shake no matter how much Luke got on him about it.

"So, how are you enjoying your new school, Rory?" Richard allowed his plate to be set in front of him as he spoke.

"It's great. There's a lot of work so far, but we're keeping on top of it, right Jess?"

Nodding politely, Jess put a forkful of food in his mouth and began chewing. Another nervous habit that would allow him time for thought if any extra questioning came his way.

"Well, I know for a fact that Jess is having an excellent start to his year!" The way Emily's voice rose and her eyes bore into him with scorn made Jess squirm. He obviously wasn't the only one to notice the malicious tone as Lorelai was quick to jump in.

"What's that supposed to mean Mom?"

As if playing a game where she was now running the board she smiled when her bait was taken.

"Only that I had a late lunch with Hanlin Charleston the other day. He informed me that my 'grandson' had already gotten into a fight." Jess didn't know how she managed to make the word grandson sound like it had air quotes around it, but she had. He instantly felt everyone's eyes on him.

"Is there something you forgot to mention to us, Jess?" Luke asked curiously. Emily's word was not always reliable, but her facts were not usually pulled from thin air either.

"Tristan knocked his books out of his hand, Luke, Jess was just sticking up for himself," Rory defended.

"I shoved him once, that's it," Jess added, feeling uncomfortable.

"That was all he could do before Hanlin pulled them apart," Emily countered.

"He didn't pull us apart, we weren't even touching when Charleston got there," Jess' temper rose.

"Principal Charleston, young man," Richard corrected, "I'm sure you know about Chilton's strict rules regarding conflict."

"Yeah the old bat informed me," the boy snapped.

"Jess," Luke scolded sharply.

"You see that is exactly the kind of behaviour we are talking about," Emily pointed her finger and Jess glared at it. "You have got to get a handle on that temper Lorelai. He's not going to get very far in life with behaviour like that."

"We know what we're doing Mom. If you two weren't ganging up on him every time he came over you would see that Jess is a very sweet boy. I'm sure if he felt the need to get physical at school, there must have been a very good reason."

Jess' cheeks reddened. He was fifteen being referred to as a 'sweet boy', but he appreciated his aunt sticking up for him.

"With all due respect Mrs. Gilmore how we parent Jess is between us and him and had we known about the fight we would have handled it, we are going to handle it, whether it needs to be handled or not we will discuss. Jess is a good kid, and for now I think it's about time we changed the subject."

He and Lorelai had discussed the fact that now that they were indebted to the elders, they couldn't just storm out whenever things got tense like they used to do, but the uncle wasn't going to sit around and discuss the issue any longer either.

"Obviously it needed to be brought to your attention since he wasn't going to tell you about it himself, but I suppose now that you know we can be sure that the two of you will deal with the atrocious behaviour, we can let it go."

Rory shot Jess a sympathetic look from across the table, but he only returned it with an eye roll, assuring her that he was tougher than to let the words of the Gilmore's get him down.

"Seriously Jess, a fight?" Luke spoke as the car began to drive back to Stars Hollow.

"It wasn't really a fight," Rory piped up, "More of a small scuffle, right Jess?"

"Tristan was being a jerk, I made sure he knew I wasn't some timid new kid he could mess with, that's all," he explained. "Charleston walked by before anything even happened... Not that it would have of course."

"Of course," Luke agreed doubtfully. "Just make sure if it ever happens again, defending yourself, not starting a fight because that better not happen," he added on the side, "That you don't do it somewhere that any faculty who's on the ins with the Gilmores will see, okay?"

"Yeah Jess, small tip, it's better not to give the Gilmores any more ammo than they already have," Lorelai explained. "What may seem like a small infraction to you, is World War III to the Gilmores."

"Don't worry, I won't get in any more fights any time soon. I plan to steer clear of Tristan for the time being."

"I like that plan," Luke agreed. "It's only week one at this new school, I don't need any calls from the principal. Besides that Charleston guy scares me."

"Any friend of my parents scares me," Lorelai shuddered. "Well, otherwise, I think we made it out of our first 'Friday Night Dinner' unscathed, wouldn't you say?"

"It wasn't the worst dinner with the grandparents," agreed Rory.

"I mean, I know we made a pact not to bolt out at the first sign of trouble, but I was still 85% sure we would. That's progress friends!" Lorelai pumped her fist into the air in success.

"Now we've got a whole weekend free to laze around and do nothing," Jess smiled from the back.

Rory nodded, "I'm going to try to get the majority of my assignments done when we get home tonight so I can actually hang out with Lane for the first time in a week."

"Or, even better plan," Jess piped up, "All the assignments will still be there Sunday night and we can try to forget they exist for as long as possible."

"You are impossible, you know that right?" Rory shook her head, turning to the window.

"I've been told that a time or two... from every person in this car."

"Yeah? If you've noticed the theme have you ever thought about maybe working on that then?" Luke peered through the rearview mirror with a smirk.

Jess shook his head coolly, "Nah, imagine how dull your life would be without this charming personality!"

"It would definitely be less interesting," Lorelai agreed, trying to remember the eleven years before her now nephew came into the picture.

"I'd for sure have a lot less grey hairs," Luke added matter of factly.

"None of my books would be defaced!" Rory chimed in.

"Taylor wouldn't have our number on speed dial."

"Ok, ok, jeez, is it team up on Jess night? And you love it when I write in the margins so that's not a valid argument!" Jess pointed accusingly at his sister.

Lorelai let out a laugh, "Alright guys, let's give the poor boy a break. How about stopping for some ice-cream? Would that make our cranky boy happier?" she couldn't help tease once more.

Jess sighed, shaking his head and then with a small shrug, "...yes. Yes it would."

The rest of the car laughed loudly and Luke was soon pulling off the highway in search of a frozen dessert establishment that they could all agree on.

Later that night Jess was reading in bed, arm draped tiredly over his forehead and the words beginning to blur when he heard a knock and his uncle enter.

"Hey Bud, you reading or sleeping?"

"I just wanted to finish this chapter." He admitted, rubbing his eyes.

"Well Lorelai and I are heading up to bed, but I wanted to check in on you beforehand. Are you okay? I know it wasn't the best night, but it could have been worse, right?"

Jess sat up and placed his dog-eared book to the side, "I'm fine. Like Rory said, we've had worse nights at the Gilmore's."

Luke nodded slightly, "And about the fight-"

"I promise it really was no big deal Uncle Luke. It won't happen again. I've got it all under control," Jess cut him off before the man's worrying nature began to spiral.

"Okay, I'm going to let you handle it, it's just the last time-"

"Last time I was twelve Luke."

"Yeah and you were just adjusting to a new school back then too."

"I was a dumb kid."

"You weren't dumb-"

"I don't give in to peer pressure anymore. I'm not going to go out and steal a video game, you know I wouldn't do that, right?"

The uncle nodded thoughtfully. He did know. He was proud to say with a little help from himself and Lorelai, the kid really had grown up a lot. He had meant what he said at dinner, Jess was a good kid. He may have been misguided when he first came to Stars Hollow, but that good kid had always been there.

Luke smiled, "Okay. You're old enough to tell me that if you can handle it, then I will believe you. I just don't like anyone messing with my boy."

"Tristan has no real fight in him, he's just a jerk looking for attention, I've got it, seriously."

"Good. Now I think you should turn in too. It's Friday night so I'm not going to force you, but it didn't look like you were comprehending much of that book when I walked in here."

Jess nodded, "I'll just finish the last two pages."

Luke pulled Jess in for a side hug and then stood up with a stretch, "Goodnight Nephew. You know I love you, right?"

"Love you too."

A/N- I know I suck! I'm not even going to make excuses except here is a new chapter and the next will be posted eventually. Hope some of you are still here and you enjoy! Let me know if you do!