Jess walked slowly down the front drive, away from Rory but confident this time that he would be walking back in her direction again soon enough. He'd promised himself on the bus ride back from New York, at the beginning of Summer, that things would be different this time. A few minor details had been in their way up until now delaying his opportunity to prove to himself that he'd changed. To prove to her that he'd changed. She was right in her letter, something did happen between the studying, or avoidance of as the case had been, and the car crash. He'd felt it too. Something had burst inside him that night and began to grow. When she'd surprised him in Washington Square Park he'd felt it again and it grew a little more and it gave him the courage to return to Stars Hollow, to Luke, to school. She would be the ultimate reward. His feet took him back to the bridge as he realised that the feeling was now stronger than ever. It had all but disappeared lately but it was back. He tried to find a word for it but couldn't. It wasn't love, he already knew he loved her. He'd loved her from the day he'd first seen her - all innocent faced but with a bookcase full of all the adventures one could ever hope to have. No, this feeling wasn't love, it was something else. He thought it might be hope.
Rory lay back on her bed, thoughts of Jess running through her mind making her smile. She'd done enough thinking for one night and her body soon gave in and let her sleep. It was early when she woke, far too early to be awake, especially on a Saturday, but memories of the night before came flooding back, reminding her that she had something important to do today. She buried her head beneath the covers for a few minutes, unable to face the thought of seeing Dean let alone contemplating what she would say to him. How she would get the words out. Saturday morning meant practice. She couldn't remember which season it was, maybe if she'd been a better girlfriend she would have remembered that kind of detail, she chided herself. If she'd been a better girlfriend she would not have been kissing another boy, in her room, on her bed last night! He didn't need to know those details, she decided, it would only hurt him more. Rory threw back the covers, forcing herself to get up and get on with the day.
Despite staying out late at the bridge Jess woke up early at the sound of Luke leaving the apartment to head downstairs and open the diner. He lay there for a while allowing his thoughts to drift back to last night and replay the events in Rory's bedroom. She would never know how hard it was for him to walk away from her when all he wanted to do was lay down beside her and stay there all night. It wasn't right though and so he'd left and, difficult as it was, it was the way it had to be. He smiled to himself remembering the look in her eyes as he'd told her he came back for her. His whole body woke up as he remembered the feel of her mouth on his and her body pressed to him. He remembered the way they'd spoken, with pretence at first but then he'd let himself open up to her. For once they weren't speaking through characters and context and fictional plots, they were the characters now and they were writing their own story. He just hoped he'd be happy with how the next chapter panned out but the ball was in Rory's court now. It hadn't been difficult for him, breaking up with Shane, after all there weren't any actual feelings involved, not for him anyway. He felt a little bad when he'd realised she was hurt by his words, telling her he was done and she should go find someone who could appreciate her for who she was. It was the truth. She didn't need to know he was in love with someone else. Jess scoffed at himself as he thought that word so effortlessly. Love, huh? Better watch yourself Mariano or you'll be the one getting your heart trampled on, he warned himself. Shaking his head he kicked off the covers and got up and dressed then headed down to help Luke in the diner. He had no idea how long Rory might take to clear the edges but his sense of self preservation told him he'd be better off keeping himself busy and distracted while he waited.
A/N I found it really hard to find a good balance in breaking up the chapters so there will be a few short chapters updated together rather than one large chapter all at once. Sorry if this isn't your preferred way to read, I'll put them all up quickly so you won't have to wait long for he next bit. Thanks for reading, please review if you want to or just keep on reading if you'd rather :)