I'm sorry for the delay in updating: but you can take comfort in the fact that this is the longest chapter so far!
A million thanks for all of your reviews, I highly appreciate them (and please keep them coming)
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"Hey, sleepy-head" Rory hears Jess' voice next to her ear and without opening her eyes she reaches her hands out towards him to pull him closer.
She feels some sort of fabric where she expected to feel his skin and darts her eyes open. "Why are you dressed?" She asks with an accusing and disappointed tone in her voice.
He laughs. "I have this thing called work that I need to attend. It's quite cool actually, I go there, stay there for a few hours, try to look busy, and at the end of the month I get a pay-check"
She rolls her eyes. "I know what work is. But why didn't you wake me?"
"I am waking you now"
"But earlier, when you got up"
"You looked so peaceful, sleeping and drooling on your pillow"
"I wasn't drooling" She furrows her eyebrows. "Was I?"
He smirks and gives her a quick kiss on the lips and makes an attempt to get up from the bed, but Rory pulls him back. "It's not fair!" She exclaims.
"What isn't?" He asks, haven momentarily given up the attempt of getting out of bed and instead laying down next to her, resting on his elbow.
"That you got to wake up next to me and I didn't get to wake up next to you on our first morning back together"
He looks confused. "But I'm here"
"Yes. But you haven't recently woken up" She pouts.
"You're crazy, you know that?" He says before leaning over and kissing her again and then darting out of bed, faster this time and therefore actually succeeding. "I'm opening today, so I have to go. But I think there's coffee left in the kitchen and I made you pancakes for breakfast and left them on the counter for you"
"You made me pancakes?" A smile spreads across her face and replaces the pout.
"Hey, I know the way to a Gilmore's heart goes through her stomach"
"You're momentarily forgiven for not waking me up, but don't think you can get away with this every morning" She says as she sits up on the side of the bed.
"Point taken" Jess says and leans over for a quick kiss before heading towards the door. "There's books in the bookshelf, channels on the TV and internet on the computer and I'm right downstairs if you get bored, I should have some time off around lunch and then we can talk some more" He adds before leaving the room.
.
The kitchen is empty when Rory enters and there's a stack of pancakes sitting on a plate on one of the counters. She smiles and walks over to grab them and move them to the table. Before sitting down she investigates the cupboards over the counter, trying to figure out where the coffee mugs are stashed away.
She opens the middle one and smiles when she finds them on the first try. Not bad. She does a silly little victory dance before reaching out to grab one of the mugs.
She stirs and almost drops the mug when she hears someone entering the kitchen behind her. She turns around and is met by Chris' demeaning looks.
"Good morning" She says and smoothes her shirt out, suddenly feeling very self-conscious and uneasy, his words from last night still ringing in her ears.
"Morning" He nods in her direction but then quickly goes back to ignoring her and starting to wash his coffee mug.
Rory looks at his back, unsure of whether she should say something to him. Maybe she should try to explain why she's back. But her courage fails her and she turns to the coffee pot to fill up her mug.
Chris glances over as Rory pours the last drops of coffee into her mug, not even filling half the mug. "I'm sorry" He says with an innocent smile. "Guess I didn't make enough coffee."
Rory lifts the cup and takes a small sip from it, that way making the coffee last a little bit longer. "It's okay" She says and tries to smile at him. Why was this man making her so nervous?
He probably didn't do it on purpose. He probably just made the same amount of coffee he made each morning, not really thinking about her being there. He couldn't know that she liked to start her mornings with large amounts of caffeine – for all he knew she maybe didn't even like coffee.
Chris takes a quick look around, obviously pleased with learning that they were still alone in the kitchen, 'cause a smile is placed on his lips when he looks at her again. "I mean, I wasn't sure you'd still be around in the morning, wouldn't wanna have to throw the extra coffee out in case you were gone."
Before giving Rory a chance to answer he places his now clean mug in the dish rack and leaves the kitchen.
She sighs. Okay, so it wasn't an honest mistake.
.
With a determined look on her face Rory stares at the computer screen while her fingers flies across the keyboard, too focused to even notice someone entering the room behind her back.
"What are you doing?" She stirs when she hears Jess' voice and the warm breath on her neck as he leans down besides her.
She looks up at him with a smile on her lips and gives him a quick peck on the lips before returning to look at the screen. "I'm making a list"
"A list?" He asks and stands back up.
"Yeah. A list. It's this thing where you put things down in a specific order. Or not, there are unorganized lists as well. Then there is really no specific order, it's just a list, of things." She nods energetically while speaking and takes a big gulp of coffee from the mug beside her when done talking.
"I do know what a list is." He smirks.
"Yeah. Yeah, of course you do." She smiles and laughs at her own stupidity before turning back to her list.
"What kind of list are you making?"
"A list of things I need to do."
"Things you need to do, huh? Any chances that making out with your boyfriend on his lunch break is on that list?"
She shoots him a smile and then glances at her list. "Nope. Sorry."
He turns her swirling chair around to make her face him. "Then I'm not sure I like that list." He leans down towards her and finds her lips.
She pulls back from the kiss, still smiling. "Oh, but you should." She turns the chair around and directs her attention towards the computer again. "Look." She says and gestures towards the list on the screen. "It's a list to get my life in order." He turns to look at the screen as she starts reading things of the list out loud. "I need to get a job, some kind of job in the right direction towards becoming a journalist. I'm not picky, right now I would settle for bringing a real journalist coffee or running errands, as long as the coffee-bringing takes place at an actual newspaper." Jess nods and she takes that as her cue to continue. "And I need to get my things out of Logan's apartment and place them somewhere else. That's a separate thing on the list." She points to a line a bit further down. "Figure out living situation." She reads out loud. "You should have some say in that too. I mean, we should discuss it together, you and I." She looks up at him, but he doesn't seem to notice as his eyes are intently fixed on the screen. "I don't know if you'd want us living together right away, or if I should find my own place first, anyway it's on the list so I will bring it up to discussion some time in the next couple of days, so you should probably start thinking about– Hey!" She interrupts herself when Jess leans over her, reaching for the keyboard. "What are you doing?"
With a smirk on his lips, Jess ignores her protests and keeps writing. When he's done he stands up straight again and looks at her as she reads out loud the words he wrote on the top of her list. "1. Take a break from writing crazy list and make out with boyfriend on lunch break." She pouts and looks at him. "My list isn't crazy!"
"It is when it's keeping you from doing more important things."
She smiles at him, starting to give in. "This is important things."
"I know." He smirks. "And look: right here on top of the list: make out with boyfriend. You'd better obey the list."
"If you think being a smart-ass is going to save you from the consequences of mocking the list you're completely in the wrong here mister."
"I'm not mocking the list." He says with an innocent smile. "I'm saying you'd better get started on ticking things off of that list."
She rolls her eyes and stands up from the chair. "Aren't you supposed to have lunch on your lunch-break?"
"Nah" He shrugs his shoulders and puts his arms around her waist. "I'll grab something quick before going back, right now there are more urgent needs to take care of"
She grins. "Yeah, like what?"
"Well, for starters I really missed you today" He smirks and places a kiss on her lips.
"I've been up here the whole time" She says and wraps her arms around his neck.
"I know" He kisses her again. "But I've been downstairs"
She smiles, happiness running through her body. "You're too smart for your own good, you know that?"
He shrugs his shoulders and twirls them around and smoothly lays her down on the bed and places himself on top of her. "Let's get started on that list" He whispers into her ear as she laughs at his swift moves.
.
Rory stands behind the counter at Truncheon, deeply engulfed in a book when she's interrupted by Vanessa's appearance by her side.
"Hey" She says and leans forward to read the title of Rory's book. "The Howl" She reads out loud, looking confused at first, but then a smile spreads across her face. "It's the book, right? The one that Jess stole from you?"
"Borrowed" Jess interjects without taking his eyes away from the book he's reading, standing in a similar position a bit down the counter.
"Whatever" Vanessa says and turns back to Rory."I love that you kept it all these years"
"Well, he severely diminished the second-hand value of the book when writing in it" She says in a mocking tone.
"You're so cute together" Vanessa states and is rewarded with a blush from Rory and a glare from Jess. "Anyways…" she laughs. "Have either of you seen my boyfriend? He told me to meet him here"
"He's in a meeting" Jess answers and nods towards the office/store room. "With Pixie" He adds and Vanessa smiles.
"Is Pixie here?"
"Yep" Jess answers before returning to his book.
"Oh, I love Pixie" Vanessa exclaims.
"Who's Pixie?" Rory asks confused.
Before Vanessa has the chance to answer Rory's question a girl in her early thirties opens the door to the office. Her long sandy blonde hair is covered with pink highlights, but somehow she manages to pull the look of without looking completely ridiculous. She's wearing a pair of worn-down jeans and pink tunic to match the stripes in her hair.
"That's Pixie" Vanessa whispers to Rory, who's looking at the woman, completely mesmerized.
"I'll take a look at your stuff and get back to you" Matt says, turned to the woman while accompanying her out of the office.
"No hurry sweetie" The woman smiles and then turns towards the counter. "Vanessa!" She says and rapidly walks up to them and throws her arms around Vanessa.
"I have to talk to Matt" Jess says as he leans closer to Rory. "I'll be right back" He continues before leaving.
"Hi Pixie" Vanessa says and hugs her back.
"Tell me you've changed your mind and started writing real stuff instead of working at that corrupted news-paper of yours" Pixie says and examines Vanessa's face as she steps out of the hug.
Vanessa rolls her eyes. "Sorry to disappoint you" She says with a smile.
"Ah, well" Pixie says and shrugs her shoulders. "I'm just saying it's a waste of talent"
"Have you met Rory?" Vanessa asks, knowing quite well that she hasn't.
"No" Pixie answers, shaking her head. "Who's Rory?"
"This is Rory" Vanessa gestures towards Rory by her side. "Rory – Pixie. Pixie – Rory" she introduces them.
"Hi" Rory smiles and reaches her hand out towards the woman, but is left standing with her hand unshaken in the air between them as the woman gasps when she sees her.
"Look at that face! The bone-structure! And those eyes!" Pixie takes a step back, closes her eyes and leans her head back. "Eyes as blue as the ocean and as vivid as the waves" She says as to herself. "No…no, that's not right." She shakes her head and looks back at Rory. "Your eyes shouldn't be described, they should be painted." She smiles and grabs Rory's shoulders. "Yes! Painted! Adam would love your eyes!"
"Adam?" Rory repeats, confused and just a tad bit scared of the woman in front of her.
"Her boyfriend" Vanessa whispers. "He's a painter."
"Oh." She says, still finding the woman a bit intimidating in all her craziness.
A ringing sound is heard and interrupts Pixie's examination of Rory's face for a few seconds. "Excuse me" Vanessa says and picks up her phone and walks away.
"I wonder whether your eyes would come to their right the most with studio lighting or whether it should be natural lighting" Pixie continues after the short interruption.
"Oh…I–I don't know really…" Rory says
"You know…" A voice is heard behind them as Chris descends the stairs and comes up to them. "…it might be a really good idea to let Adam paint you"
Rory smiles, thinking he's trying to make nice for this morning. Maybe he regretted what happened. Maybe he just didn't do well with mornings. Who did by the way.
Her hopes disappear as fast as they came when he continues with a smug smile on his lips. "That way Jess will have something to remember you by when you leave"
Pixie looks at her confused. "Are you leaving? When? 'Cause I think Adam's already working on something, but maybe he cou–"
"There's no rush Pixie." Rory says without taking her eyes off of Chris. "I'm not leaving. There'll be plenty of time for me to sit for a painting, no rush."
Chris scoffs and walks away. Pixie looks from Chris to Rory, sensing there's something in the air between them. "Oh, okay…"
.
Rory lies sprawled across Jess' bed, her head resting in his lap, trying to focus on the pages of the book. It seems to be an impossible task as her thoughts keeps going back to the encounters with Chris earlier in the day.
She had never known how to handle it when people didn't like her, but this was ridiculous. The guy had never even given her a chance.
"I was thinking you could talk to Vanessa, maybe she knows if there's an opening of some sort at her paper…" Jess suddenly says and interrupts her thoughts as wells as her tries to focus on the book. "…and even if there's not, I'm guessing she has some connections that you could probably use"
He tries to make his voice sound casual as he continues. "That is, if you want us to live in Philadelphia, you don't have to feel that we have to only because my work is here, if you don't want to live here we'll figure it out somehow. But if you do however, I say we go get your things from Logan as soon as possible, you probably won't be able to fit everything in the apartment, but maybe your mother has some place she can store them while you're living here. Living in the apartment would only be a temporary solution of course, as I think it would be a bit crowded if we all lived here at once and it would probably drive Chris crazy living in a crowded apartment with two couples." He stops and looks at Rory, who's know sitting up and looking at him with a wide smile on her lips. "What?"
"You're following the list." She says.
He rolls his eyes. "I'm being practical."
She nods and keeps smiling. "The list is practical."
"I'm just saying that these are things we need to figure out."
She nods again. "That's why they're on the list."
"I'm going back to reading now" He states and opens his book again. "What?" He asks after a while, noticing that Rory's still staring at him and smiling.
"I love you" She says and takes a deep breath. "I love you and I finally feel like everything in my life is starting to fall into place"
He smiles and pulls her closer. "I love you too."
.
"So, if it's okay with you guys, Rory's going to stay with us until we find a place of our own" Jess asks while they're all seated at the kitchen table, eating dinner.
"Of course" Matt answers immediately. "No problem"
"We don't have much room for any more stuff" Chris points out in a low voice.
"We were thinking we only bring the most necessary things and stash the rest at her mother's until we figure the living situation out" Jess replies and Chris only nods in response.
"I'm not that good with carrying things, but since we got together Matt has started actually working out in the gym instead of just using it as a pick-up place–" Vanessa starts.
"Hey!" Matt interjects and is rewarded with three sets of raised eyebrows. He rolls his eyes and gestures towards Vanessa "Continue…"
"As I was saying…" Vanessa continues. "…we'd love to help out if there's anything we could do. All three of us" When saying the last part she fixates Chris' eyes with hers and gives him a stern look.
"We'd be glad to help" He mutters and is rewarded with a short nod from Vanessa as she lets go of the eye contact.
Even though she knows Vanessa is only trying to help make things right by inviting Chris, Rory can't help but feel she rather do all this without his sarcastic comments and snarly remarks. "Thank you" She says quietly in Chris' direction.
.
"Hey mom" Rory says as she throws herself on the bed in Jess' room.
"Hey sweetie. Quick question: Paul Anka in a dog-tux carrying the rings in a little box on his back, weird and creepy or kind of cute?"
"Wedding-planning already?"
"Just throwing some ideas around. So…dog in tux, cute or creepy?"
"I think the main question here is: would you really risk leaving Paul Anka in charge of the rings? What if while walking down the aisle he sees someone wearing a watch, freaks and bolts out of there with the rings in a box on his back?"
"Hmm. Hadn't really thought that through. That would seriously mess up the ceremony"
"Yeah" Rory smiles. Her mother sounds so happy. "Anyway, I was calling to see if you were free this weekend? We're talking about going to get my stuff from Logan's place and storing them at your place until we figure out our living situation"
"Yeah, no problem. I'll make sure Luke's available to help out as well"
"Thanks"
"You could probably stay in the diner apartment, of course I need to clear it with Luke first, but I don't think there'll be any problems." There's a short pause before Lorelai continues. "Of course, you're more than welcome to stay at the house, but I'm thinking maybe you want some privacy and I think I would prefer that to. I'm not sure I would want to hear you and Jess, I mean after all that time apart it's bound to be loud."
"Mom!"
"I'm talking about your book-discussions of course. What did you think I was talking about?" Rory can practically hear the smile on her mother's lips. "You know, as thrilling as it is for the two of you, it's not that interesting for the rest of us to hear you debate for the hundredth time whether this author or that author makes you fall asleep faster"
Rory laughs. "Yeah, right. Your mind is always so innocent and pure, I forgot"
"Well, it's an honest mistake"
"Do you think you could…eh…maybe find a place for a few more over-the-night guests?"
"Yeah, sure. Why?"
"Jess' friends are coming with, to help with the move"
"Oh! That's great. I'll see what I can do!"
"Thanks" Rory feels a bit relieved. Her mother could probably help her deal with the Chris-situation. "Oh, and it's Hemingway by the way" She adds.
"Huh? Jess' friend is Hemingway? Thought he was dead. Oh!" Lorelai's tone changes from confused to ecstatic. "Is Jess having a sixth-sense thing going on? An I-see-dead-people kind of thing?"
Rory sighs. "No. I meant the author that – you know what? It doesn't matter. Me, Jess and three of his friends are coming, all of them alive, none of them Hemingway"
"You're leaving Hemingway in Philadelphia?" Lorelai sounds sad. "Won't he be mad?"
Rory smiles and shakes her head at her mother's joking. "No. I hear he has a date with Jane Austen, so I think he's good"
"Good. I'm glad he's found someone"
"Yeah, so… I guess I see you Friday then. I'm guessing there's no way either of us is getting out of Friday night dinner this week with everything that's been happening"
"No. I'm sorry kid, I think you'd need an actual doctor's note to get out of this one." Lorelai hesitates for a few seconds before continuing. "You're bringing Jess?"
"No" Rory states. She could only imagine the look on her grandmother's face if she showed up to dinner with a new boyfriend only a week after cancelling her wedding. "I think he should be spared"
"You're probably right. Oh!" Her mother exclaims. "You know what we should do?"
"Build a time machine, go back a year in time and don't tell grandma we'll keep coming to Friday night dinners even though all debts with them have been cleared?"
"That's a thought, but since I'm not really up on my time-machine-building skills, I have yet another idea"
"Let's hear it"
"We'll go to Friday night dinner and listen to my mother complain on how you just left one of Connecticut's most wanted bachelor's at the altar and then on Saturday, you all come to mine and Luke's engagement party at the Inn!"
"You're having an engagement party?" Rory asks. "Why didn't I know about this?"
"Because I just decided that we're having one." Lorelai states in a tone suggesting she should know that already. "This Saturday"
Rory laughs. "Okay"
"Oh, and you know what else?"
"What?"
"You could all stay at the Inn"
"Do you have room for that?"
"Sweetie, one of the perks of having your mother run her own Inn is that there's always room for you and your friends there"
"You sure?"
"I'm sure"
"Okay"
"Okay. So, see you Friday?"
"See you Friday" Rory hangs up the phone and sits up on the side of the bed. Her mother was happy with Luke and she was happy with Jess, and they were all meeting up in Stars Hollow in a couple of days. She smiles. If it weren't for Chris and his refusing to see that this thing with her and Jess was the real thing, life would be just about perfect right now. She sighs. Give it time, she tells herself.
.
"…and when we're done trying to fit all my stuff into the garage my mother invited us all to her engagement party" Rory says, recapping the decisions made during her phone call to Jess and his friends.
"This is the town in the book, right?" Vanessa says and smiles. "I've been wanting to see that town ever since I read about it. It sounds hysterical"
Rory nods. "At times it could be"
"At times?" Jess snorts. "All the time I would say"
"It isn't that bad" Rory says, trying to defend her beloved town.
"If I had been trusted to read the book, I could have been on your side and evened the odds, but obviously I wasn't…" Matt says and pouts.
"Oh, come on!" Vanessa says and kisses him on the cheek. "You'd probably love it anyway. There's this one guy named Taylor…"
Taylor! The rest of Vanessa's words are lost to Rory as she remembers what she overheard Taylor and some other townspeople talking about at Doose's. They would probably make all sorts of assumptions about her showing up there with Jess. No doubt would they blame him for everything and paint him out to be the bad guy.
"What is it?" Jess asks as he nudges her shoulder with a concerned look on his face.
"What?" she asks back, trying to mask her concerns with a smile.
"You look like you're a thousand miles away"
She tries to smile, but when met with Jess' questioning face she relents. "Can I talk to you in private for a sec?"
"Sure"
Matt and Vanessa are deeply engaged in a discussion about the various characters of Stars Hollow and Chris seems to have slipped away into his room, so Rory and Jess are able to step away into his bedroom without anyone really noticing.
"What's bothering you?" Jess asks as soon as she closes the door behind them.
"The thing is…you know the people in town tend to…care about what other people do?"
He scoffs. "Yeah, that's putting it mildly"
"Well, when I cancelled the wedding, there were a lot of speculations as to why, but I never really told anyone besides my mom…and I think she's only told Luke and Sookie…"
"So?"
"So…I don't want them all thinking you're some sort of home-wrecker or wedding-crasher or whatever"
"I don't care what they think"
"But I do. I don't want that. I don't want them thinking that this is just some…some, I don't know – prank – or whatever that you pulled"
"A prank?"
"You know what I mean. I don't want them thinking it's your fault that I cancelled the wedding"
"Isn't it?"
"No. I mean yes, but not like that. It wasn't a fault per se either."
"More like a favor?" He smirks.
"I'm serious Jess! I don't want the town to bring out the tar and feather or their torches or whatever when I walk into town with you by my side"
"Don't worry" He says, still smirking.
"But I–"
"Sshh" He kisses her. "If I say I'll take care of it, will you trust me?"
"But ho–" He kisses her again and effectively interrupts her.
"Will you trust me?"
"Do I have a choice?"
He shrugs his shoulders. "You could come with a plan of your own?"
She smiles. "You have a plan?"
"Maybe"
.
"Maybe you should talk to Blondie as well, let him know that you're coming?" Vanessa says as she leans back against Matt's chest on the couch. "To try and avoid some of the unnecessary drama when you show up with no less than three guys to pack your things up?"
"Yeah, you're right." Rory bites her lower lip. "I probably should give him a heads up" She picks up her phone and holds in her hands. "Do you…do you mind if I…take this in private?"
Vanessa nods. "I think you should, for his sake"
Rory nods and looks at Jess, sitting next to her on the couch. He nods as well.
"Okay, so…" She stands up from the couch.
"You could go down to the store, it's no one there at this hour" Matt says and tilts his head in the direction of the door.
"Yeah. Thanks" She bends down towards Jess for a quick peck on the lips before leaving, but he pulls her in for a real kiss before letting her go. She smiles towards him before leaving the apartment.
.
Rory takes a deep breath and stares at her phone.
Hi, Logan. Just so you know, I'm bringing my new boyfriend, you know the one I left you at the altar for and whose arms I told you I wouldn't jump into right away, and his three friends to pick up my things on Saturday. That's no problem, right?
No…that probably wasn't the way to go. But how the hell did you this?
She sighs and starts dialing the number.
"Rory?" Logan answers almost immediately.
"Yeah, hi" She says, not knowing what else to say. She should have practiced this before calling.
"Hi" His voice sounds so sad, so broken. "So…how are you?"
"I'm fine" She answers without thinking. I'm fine? That's a horrible thing to say to the guy whose heart she just broke. "I mean, I'm…I– "
"I'm glad" He interrupts, not without bitterness.
"Logan…" She starts, but doesn't quite know how to continue. She wants to make him feel better, she never meant for him to hurt like this, but she doesn't know how to do it. She can't give him what he wants.
"So, what's on your mind? I'm quite busy, I don't really have time for this right now" His voice sounds hard and she can practically hear the hurt behind every word.
"I–I need to come pick my things up…I was wondering if it would be okay if I came by this weekend…and picked them up"
"Sure" He answers shortly.
"Okay"
"I'll probably be to hung-over to move in the morning, but if you make sure to come later in the day, I'll make sure to make myself disappear"
"You don't have to–"
"So it's not too painful for you to see me? I figured that was why you sent your mother to talk to me when you cancelled the wedding, or why I had to sit in the driveway in front of your mother's house for hours to get an explanation as to why my fiancée backed out of our wedding"
"Logan…" She pleads.
"Well, if it's not, then I'll guess I'll see you Saturday, bring some tacos, will ya? As I said I'll probably be hung-over" With that he hangs up the phone.
Rory buries her head in her hands. Why did people have to be hurt like this? Why couldn't everything just be easy and simple for once?
"Aww" She hears Chris' voice as he descends the stairs. "Did Richie Rich say something mean?" She looks up and sees him tilting his head towards her as if pretending to care. "Don't worry…" He continues as he makes his way towards the door. "…you have a group of fans upstairs that'll probably be fighting over who gets to comfort you" He smiles and nods his head goodbye before he opens the door and steps out.
That was it. She gets up from the stool she was seated in and heads for the door. "Hey!" She shouts as she opens the door and spots him standing on the street a few feet away with a lighted cigarette in his hand.
Chris' head darts up to see who the voice belongs to. When he sees Rory standing on the top of the stairs outside Truncheon he goes back to staring out into the street.
Rory walks up to him, now severely agitated by Chris' treatment of her and her own bad conscience for hurting Logan. "I don't know what your problem with me is, if it's something personal or if Paris was right, but either way: I'm not leaving this spot until you tell me what the problem is and how we're going to solve it!"