AN: It should be clear but just in case it isn't - Luke and Jess's dialogue happens immediately after last chapter, but the rest of the chapter happens the next day :) Happy holidays to everyone celebrating :) My gift to you - the longest chapter yet! xxx


"Jess, what the hell happened?" Luke asks as the two walk back to the diner. It had taken Luke a few minutes to locate Jess, but once he had, they had shot out of Lorelai's like bats out of hell.

"Nothin'," Jess barks, snapping his jacket more tightly around his body.

"Well somethin' happened to get Lorelai all ticked off," Luke insists, raising his voice. "You set her off on me, you know that?"

"Sorry to burst your honeymoon period," Jess quips sarcastically, waving a hand dismissively at his uncle.

"Jess!"

Jess freezes at the tone of his uncle's voice. He takes a deep breath and turns slowly on his heel. He locks eyes with Luke, finding metaphorical daggers being shot in his direction.

"Spill," Luke commands, crossing his arms.

"Can we go somewhere warmer?" Jess asks, more softly and calmly this time. Luke considers this and looks ahead; they were only a few yards away from the diner at this point anyway.

"Fine. But I don't want your moody teenage sighing or silent treatment or whatever else you do at your age, you got it? You don't get to be James Dean tonight. Capisce?"

Jess rolls his eyes but nods.

Luke nods back at Jess and leads the way, stalking over to the diner door and unlocking it. Jess shuffles to stay warm as Luke jiggles the knob.

Once inside, the men take off their coats. Jess stares at Luke, who gestures at him. Jess rolls his eyes and pulls down a chair, setting it, and sitting on it backwards in one swift movement. Luke leans against the diner counter, waiting.

"Well?"

"Lorelai said some things. I didn't take it well. I said some things back."

"How cryptic."

"Look, Luke. She came in being all ra-ra about me needing to get over myself and be thankful for you. I was already freaked out about seeing Rory there and… I just snapped! I don't need some stranger who doesn't know me inserting their opinions about me or my life, okay?" Jess's arms move about as he talks heatedly. He feels the anger rising.

"Rory? What does Rory have to do with this?"

Jess freezes.

"Can we focus on Lorelai?" Jess grumbles, hanging his head.

Luke holds up his hands, surrendering. "Okay. What did you say to Lorelai that made her wanna rip your face off?"

"That she's either naive or sleeping with you..."

"Jesus, Jess!" Luke throws his hands up in aggravation. "No wonder."

"If it makes you feel better, I didn't intend to screw up the night," Jess says more softly now, looking directly at Luke.

Luke looks skeptical but sighs. He lifts his cap and smooths back his hair in traditional Luke fashion. Jess watches as Luke places it on the counter instead of back on his head.

"I know you didn't," Luke agrees softly, matching Jess's tone. He sighs.

"Did you guys fight over it?" Jess asks, looking at Luke's shoes.

"Don't worry about it. We fight sometimes," Luke says with an unconvincing smile.

Jess's mouth feels dry and he tries to swallow. He really knew how to screw things up. First that tall goofus, now Lorelai. It made it worse that he had upset Rory's mom, because that meant he probably had upset Rory. Further, he had upset Luke. He knew he wasn't in a position to be making so many enemies.

"Sorry," he finally says, looking back at his uncle. Luke nods and the two visibly squirm. It felt sentimental and sappy, sitting there as one apologized to the other.

"Now what's this about Rory?"

"Jesus…" Jess groans. He had really hoped Luke had forgotten.

"Jess!" Luke warns. "We had an agreement."

Jess picks at a cuticle.

"Lorelai saw us hugging."

"Who is us?"

"Me and Rory."

"You and Rory hugged?"

"Yeah… I know her," Jess says with a sigh, leaning his head back into his arms.

"Who?"

"Who do you think?" Jess narrows his eyes into a glare. "Didn't we just establish this? Rory. I know Rory."

Luke is silent for a moment, his mouth opening and closing not unlike a fish.

"You know Rory," Luke repeats.

"How many times do we have to say it?" Jess groans.

"How?" Luke blurts out.

"Anger management," Jess answers simply. He exchanges a surprised look with Luke. He hadn't expected to actually tell Luke that. The plan was going to be to tell him he had community service in Norwalk; it sounded less fluffy.

Clearly taken aback by the honesty, Luke visibly stifles a laugh. It doesn't stop him from prying, though.

"Rory goes to anger management?"

Jess is both thankful and annoyed that Luke isn't commenting on his own participation at the group.

"It's for her assignment at school," Jess says softly, picking at the wooden chair.

"And she's assigned to your group?"

"Yup."

"And that's all?"

"Yup…"

"Jess, why are you hugging Rory?" Luke demands exasperatedly, running a hand across his face.

"Rory hugged me!" Jess says defensively. "And your guess is as good as mine. I thought she didn't like me all that much," he adds with a shrug.

"You expect me to believe Rory just up and hugged you for no reason? Especially considering she met you in anger management class? She has a boyfriend, you know," Luke counters in disbelief.

"It's true! And Jesus Christ, how many times are you people gonna tell me she has a boyfriend? Does she know that?" Jess flares, gesturing wildly with his arm. "Because that was a pretty aggressive hug for a girl supposedly hung up on another guy."

Luke sighs and holds his hands up in surrender again.

"Look, I just don't want you to get into any kind of trouble. Messing around with a girl who has a boyfriend-"

"I'm not messing around with her. Luke, she hugged me," Jess growls.

"Okay, okay. She hugged you," Luke admits defeat, reaching to grab his hat and place it back on his head.

"Can we drop this now?" Jess mutters, looking towards the stairs. "I'm beat."

"Yeah, sure," Luke says absently, staring at the ground.

"So anger management, huh?" Luke finally pipes up after they sit in an awkward silence for a few moments.

"Can you make fun later? I have a migraine," Jess protests, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Why, you gonna try to fight me if I don't?" Luke jokes, smiling.

Jess gives him an annoyed look and stands up from his chair.

"Goodnight uncle Luke," Jess says with a wave, emphasizing uncle. Luke hated being called that.

"It's Luke, just Luke, you hear me?" Luke calls after Jess, following him up the stairs.


Lorelai stares as Rory chews thoughtfully on a piece of her poptart, staring down at it in her hand. Lorelai sighs and wraps her hands around her own coffee cup.

Lorelai had waited until company was gone the previous night to ask about the hugging. Apparently she had gone over to see where the two were and, upon seeing it, had quickly slipped away. Rory hadn't quite been interested in talking to her then, still needing to process, and had promised her mother that they could discuss this morning.

The only problem was that Rory still wasn't ready to talk about it. She still had so many unanswered questions, and only Jess could truly answer them. Maybe even Luke.

"So are you gonna tell me what that's all about?" Lorelai asks finally, taking a sip of the java. It seemed she had grown tired of watching her daughter stare at her pastry.

"There's nothing to tell," Rory lies, trying her best to channel Jess and shrug nonchalantly. She steals a peek at her mom and knows she didn't quite succeed.

"I beg to differ," her mother says with a flippant wave. "I walk by your room and see you hugging Luke's nephew, then I go in the kitchen to find said jerk of a nephew, only to have to go outside to see him snapping the cap off a beer on our back porch!"

Rory's eyes shoot up defensively at the word 'jerk,' but she knows she isn't really in a spot to defend Jess. When Rory doesn't chime in, her mother continues.

"And then I try to help the kid feel better about being shanghai'd into coming to Stars Hollow—without mentioning to him, 'Oh, by the way, why did you hug my daughter? Especially after I told you she had a boyfriend,' which I thought was quite noble of me—"

"You told him about Dean?" Rory finally flares, raising her voice.

Lorelai gives her a strange look.

"Yes, I did, unless there's a reason I should have hid that?" Lorelai challenges, raising her eyebrows.

Rory ducks her head before raising her voice again.

"No, you shouldn't have, but I should get to tell people whether or not I have a boyfriend. It's my personal stuff, and you have no right telling random people my personal stuff!"

"Fine, Rory," Lorelai bites back. "Whatever, I don't care." This clearly wasn't the battle Lorelai wanted to wage.

"Fine," Rory agrees, looking into her lap.

"Okay then, can I finish ranting?"

Rory rolls her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest, signaling for her mom to continue.

"Then, after I'm trying to be nice, after I've invited the little punk into my home, he accuses me of sleeping with Luke? What nerve or right does this kid think he has!" Lorelai finishes dramatically, throwing up her hands and letting them fall back on the table for emphasis.

Rory takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She knows there isn't a point in being upset with her mom. Jess wasn't a jerk, but he had acted like one. And it wasn't Lorelai's fault that Rory had launched herself at Jess and was feeling guilty over it now.

"That was out of line," Rory agrees, softening her expression.

She locks eyes with her mom, who had been staring intensely, waiting for Rory's response. Lorelai softens at Rory's retreat.

"Rory. Tell me. What was up with that hug?" Lorelai asks more calmly this time.

Rory sighs one of the deepest sighs she thinks she's ever sighed, and she puts her head in her hands, propping her elbows up on the table.

"I know him," she says quietly.

"You know who?"

"Barry Manilow, mom, who else?" Rory mumbles, giving her mom an eyeroll.

"Well sorry, I just wanted to be clear. Jess? You know Jess? Okay," Lorelai breathes deeply. "How do you know Jess?"

"Um," Rory bites her lip, faltering. Would this be breaking confidentiality? Could she get in trouble for this.

"I don't know if… I guess I have to tell you," she adds, mulling it over. Rory really did want Lorelai's advice on bringing up the conflict with her teacher. If Jess was living in Stars Hollow, she might not be able to go to that group anymore… she hoped that didn't happen, though. It would be so much work to catch up on.

And you might not get to see Jess, her subconscious pipes in. Rory shakes her head of the thought.

"Okay, but you have to promise to keep this all to yourself, okay?" Rory checks, giving her mom a serious look.

Lorelai nods. "Okay."

"Okay," Rory repeats, hugging herself. She goes on.

"I know Jess because… he's in the anger management group I go to. Mom, don't give me that look."

"What look? I didn't give you a look!"

"A 'well that makes all the sense in the world' look. Believe it or not, Jess is actually really nice. He seems like the last person who belongs there. Well, he does have an issue with authority…"

"I can see this."

"Mom!"

"Sorry. Go on. He's in the group from class?"

"Yeah," Rory nods, biting her lip again. "He's the guy that… well—"

"No!" Lorelai gasps. "Jess is Sir-Grumps-A-Lot?! The guy you've come home complaining about for months on end?"

"It hasn't been months," Rory protests, crossing her arms stubbornly over her chest.

"Um, yuh-huh," Lorelai disagrees pointedly. "I can't believe this! Wow. So Jess is the guy from anger management. Suddenly this all makes sense. What a small world."

"It certainly feels that way," Rory pouts.

"But why were you hugging him, hon? I thought he 'annoyed your soul,' if I remember that one right," Lorelai asks.

Rory furrows her eyebrows and looks at her mom hopelessly. She throws her arms down on the table.

"I don't know," she admits, laying her head down on her arms, feeling defeated.

"Do you like Jess?" Lorelai asks. Rory's head shoots up as she sees her mom looking at her with curiously sad eyes.

"No! I love Dean," Rory declares, pursing her lips.

"That doesn't mean you don't like Jess," Lorelai points out. "You can love somebody and still develop a crush on somebody else."

"Well I don't and maybe other people can but I can't," Rory insists, shaking her head. "Dean will be my boyfriend forever." She wasn't ready for this conversation.

Rory looks at her mom and sees the look of disbelief on Lorelai's face. Lorelai doesn't look convinced, and if Rory was willing to be honest with herself, she wasn't convinced either. But thinking about not being with Dean was painful.

"Okay," Lorelai says slowly, fidgeting with her coffee. "But just think about it, okay? Why else would you be hugging somebody you've claimed to be annoyed with? Maybe you've been annoyed at him because you're developing feelin—"

"Mom, I'm done talking about this. I love Dean. That's it," Rory snaps, glaring at her mom with a fire in her eyes.

Lorelai's face flashes anger but it quickly shifts into something like wisdom, like Lorelai knows some great secret that her daughter doesn't. Rory wonders if a face can look wise.

"Okay. Just think about it," Lorelai presses, putting her hand on top of Rory's arm. Rory sighs and nods in agreement.

"So what does this mean for your assignment?" Lorelai asks then, hoping to lighten the mood by shifting away from direct talk about the guy in question.

"I actually wanted your advice about it," Rory begins, finishing her poptart and leaning in.


As Rory gushes to her mother about her ethical concerns, Lorelai is only partially listening.

She knows guys like Jess, and she knows how they can draw you in. They're charismatic and badass and their brooding nature is oh so sexy. But it's trouble, Lorelai remembers.

Lorelai's worried of course. She's worried about her daughter falling for some punk who goes to anger management and who clearly has a gigantic chip on his shoulder. But she can see where this is going, and she knows Rory won't be ready for it until it hits her like a two-by-four.

She wonders how quickly this thing with Jess will cause the Rory-Dean ship to sink. She thinks about whether she's prepared for her daughter's first major breakup… and whether or not Rory is prepared for it, too.


"It's really up to the model of the Intrepid Center," Ms. Gialli says with a sympathetic smile. "They may not let you stay in that group."

Rory's legs feel wobbly. She clutches her books more tightly against her chest and shifts her weight on her heels.

"But that's so much work to make up," Rory protests. "I'd never be able to catch up in time — it's already November, we've been at the groups for nearly three months."

Ms. Gialli nods and reaches out her hand to touch Rory's arm.

"I know, Rory. It would affect your work in the Spring, but as for your Fall pieces, you submitting what you have from the Intrepid Center would be good enough for me," the teacher insists, taking her hand back. Rory frowns.

"I know it isn't ideal, but we can find a way to make the biopsychosocial work if the Intrepid Center asks you to leave. Group work is really mezzo level practice, so there's a chance they won't care. If they lean more clinical, though, your client living in your town will be an issue."

Rory sighs and blows her hair away from her face.

"I know it will be weird to see this client around and severing that relationship you got from joining his sessions, but I'm sure it won't be too bad."

Rory bites her lip.

"Thanks, Ms. Gialli. I still go to group tonight?" Rory asks, trying to offer a small smile that her heart really isn't into. Her teacher nods.

"Yes. Go to group tonight as usual, and Ms. Leon will let you know either way."

"Thanks," Rory offers again. Ms. Gialli smiles with a little wave and, with that, Rory exits the room. She closes the door behind her and stares at the wall in the hallway.

Before Rory knows it, her feet are carrying her away from the classroom and over to the front doors of Chilton. Rory rounds the bend and jumps into her mom's jeep.

She peels out of the parking lot, driving in a bit of a fog. Rory doesn't stop until she's pulled up in her driveway. Rory knows Lorelai will be at the inn, so she parks the jeep and takes to walking.

In a matter of minutes, she's marching through the diner.

"Luke!"

Luke looks up from an order he's taking, surprised. He raises his eyebrows.

"Rory? Don't you have school?"

"Um, it was a half day," Rory fibs, shifting uncomfortably. She needed to do this while she still had the nerve.

"Oh, well does your mom kn—"

"Where's Jess?"

"Jess?"

"Yes."

"Uh, h-he's upstairs," Luke stutters, apparently unaccustom to the firmness of her newfound confidence.

"Thanks," Rory nods before marching herself past Luke's perplexed face and upstairs to find the guy in question.

She sees the door is ajar, but Rory feels uncomfortable just walking in. She's known Luke for years, but she's never really been inside of his apartment. Rory knocks hesitantly and hugs her arms to her body to keep them from shaking with nerves.

She didn't know what her problem was. All Rory knew was that she needed to see Jess, to talk to him. If she was going to have to leave the group, she didn't know what it meant for the budding friendship between them. Rory just felt that Jess had a right to know.

Warmth and something akin to anxiety wash over her as familiar brown eyes open the door to look at her. Jess's expression goes from surprise to a softness that she can't quite read. Rory smiles awkwardly.

"Hi."

"Hi."

"We need to talk," Rory informs him, shuffling in the hallway. She stares at her feet.

She had just been so determined to come up here to see him… and now, suddenly Rory felt like a shy school girl. It probably didn't help that she was still in her Chilton uniform.

"Okay," Jess says simply, moving aside so that she can come in.

"Not here. Luke's downstairs."

Jess gives Rory a curious look but he shrugs and turns to grab his jacket. Rory can't help but notice a book in his back pocket, and she wonders with great curiosity what has been occupying him the last two weeks. One of her favourite things was that they could talk about books.

Jess slips off his t-shirt to replace it with a hoodie and Rory looks away, a blush rushing to her face. Jess still had a thermal on, but it was tight-fitting, and it brought up scary thoughts to Rory's head—thoughts she'd never had about Dean and certainly ones she'd never thought she'd think about Jess. Where the heck was this all coming from? It made her truly think she was losing her mind.

She feels Jess's eyes burning a hole in the back of her head, and Rory jumps when she feels his hand on her back.

Internal electricity zaps Rory but she fights it off this time, turning to look at him.

"Let's go," he says softly, gesturing towards the door. He now had a jacket over his hoodie and Rory relaxes, breathing a thankful sigh. The more layers the better. She follows him out.

Instead of heading down the stairs, Jess walks down the hallway adjacent to them.

Rory pauses behind him, staring at him curiously.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm assuming you don't want Luke to know we're leaving together?" He asks, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Well, no," she admits.

"Okay, so I'm going out my way. You go out the normal way," he says with a smirk.

There was something thrilling about this that she couldn't quite explain, and Rory smiles. She nods and heads down the stairs, trying to think fast on how to pass Luke without being suspicious.


Jess falls lightly onto his feet from the roof ledge in the back. A million thoughts are running through his head, but the most important in his mind is why Rory wants to talk. In his lifetime, a girl saying they needed to talk never worked out quite in his favor.

He wipes his hands on his jeans and shoves them into his pocket, walking around the back. He peeks his head around the corner, watching Luke through the blinds. He sees Luke wave goodbye as Rory flies out of the diner, clearly in a rush to get away from the establishment. He figures she isn't a regular at lying.

Jess waits for Luke to turn and then stands off to the side. He whistles to catch Rory's attention, who is looking around wildly for him. Rory smiles when she sees Jess and his heart clenches. He didn't know what it was about that smile that did this to him, but it was getting annoying.

"Hey," the brunette says breathlessly, running her hands up and down her arms. It was pretty cold out today.

Jess reaches into his pockets and offers his hands to Rory. She peers skeptically at the gloves they're holding.

"You would wear fingerless gloves," Rory teases, shaking her head with a smile. She grabs the gloves from his hands after some hesitation and slips them on.

Something appears in her eyes and Jess reads it immediately. He watches as she lightly touches her palms with her fingers, almost caressing the gloves, and he realizes she's thinking about the fact that his hands have worn those gloves. He isn't quite sure how he knows. He just… does.

He smirks because he can't help it and nods his head to the left, motioning for her to follow. Rory looks around her and nods, quickening her pace to pass him.

They walk in a comfortable silence. Jess is surprised how easily this comes, walking next to this girl he knows in passing as if he's known her forever. Jess shakes his head, trying to rid himself of the thought and the feelings that came with it. He didn't know where this conversation was going to go, and he didn't need to get sappy now.

The two look up at the same time and Rory smiles. They reach the bridge and she laughs.

"How did you know I wanted to come here?" She asks lightly, waving a hand at the bridge. "This is my thinking spot."

Jess gives her a look.

"What?" She asks, turning to face him.

"Nothin'. I just like this spot too. I found it after pissing off some beanstalk the other day," Jess says with a smirk, shrugging his shoulders.

Rory looks at him strangely.

"Some beanstalk?"

"Some goof took it upon himself to be the welcoming committee," Jess says dismissively. "As I'm sure your mother can attest to, I don't take well to that."

He winces at the fierce look that Rory gives him and he realizes mentioning Lorelai was probably a bad idea. She continues staring at him until it looks like something connects in her head.

"Did this beanstalk happen to have dark brown hair and be wearing a maroon sweater?" Rory asks, biting her lip.

Jess looks at her for a second in disbelief before his eyes darken reluctantly as everything clicks. This town was like a frickin' Disney theme park.

"Your boyfriend?" He asks, trying to sound nonchalant.

Rory nods and offers an awkward laugh. Jess looks up at the sky, wondering what kind of joke was being played on him. He was sure this was what being Punk'd felt like. It had to be a joke; how else could it be that he had pissed off almost everyone important to the girl in front of him in a matter of 24 hours?

He shakes his head and walks to the middle of the bridge, plopping himself down on the edge. Rory follows him, sitting with just enough distance between them.

Jess sighs.

"So you wanted to talk?" He croaks, his throat dry.

"Yeah," Rory says, tucking her hands into her jacket.

"Oh," she asks suddenly, holding up her hand. "Do you want these back?"

Something stupid inside of Jess takes over and he reaches out, grabbing her hand with his. He moves her hand this way and that as if trying to decide something. Jess then runs his thumb lightly over the palm of her hand and looks at her.

"No, they look better on you," he says softly.

Rory's cheeks immediately turn pink and she looks down. He likes how shy she gets, and he wants to smile. He likes that this is all from his touch and not from some sarcastic quip. It was a different kind of flush - one from intimacy and not just from getting a rise out of her.

He drops her hand, finally coming to his senses, and clears his throat.

"Jess?" She asks, not looking up at him.

"Rory?" He returns, leaning away from her. He shifts so that his legs are crossed and he's facing her. Rory seems to relax, and Jess is happy that the intelligent part of him is in control.

She scoots back and crosses her legs, mimicking his position. Rory places her hands in her lap and looks up at him.

"I'm sorry," she blurts out, sighing. Jess must look surprised because she continues. "I feel like I screwed up by hugging you. I don't know what came over me."

Jess's mouth twitches to hold back a frown and he looks out to the water.

"It's fine," he says finally.

"No, it's not," Rory insists, leaning in towards him. "If I didn't freak you out, you and my mom probably wouldn't have fought. Which means her and Luke probably wouldn't have argued. And, well, did you and Luke fight?"

Jess shrugs. "Not exactly."

"Well I'm sorry for whatever it was. Really. You have enough going on, the last thing you need is to be forced into my company," Rory apologizes.

Jess turns his head to face her and his stomach jerks, realizing how close she is. Does she even realize how close she's leaning in? He wonders to himself.

"It didn't freak me out," Jess insists, leaning back on his hands. "Don't give me that look, Gilmore. I mean I was surprised, sure. I didn't think you liked me all that much."

"Of course I like you," Rory retorts.

Jess raises his eyebrows and a half smile threatening to become a smirk graces his lips. "Do you?"

The look on her face says that she realizes what she's said and how he's taking it and Rory backtracks. "I don't mean like, like. Like, like. I just mean as a person. I don't dislike you."

Jess is smiling now, watching her squirm. She huffs and crosses her arms over her chest. "You just love doing that."

"Your rambles are entertaining."

"Well I'm glad you find enjoyment in my misery."

The two are silent as Rory calms back down. She looks at him and cocks her head.

"What?" She asks uncertainly, a small laugh escaping her. "What's with the look?"

The stupid wins over again. "Nothin'. It's just. You're apologizing for hugging me."

"And?"

"It's kind've weird."

"I just… I just feel responsible for the fights and the forcing. You barely know me and I just charged you. I didn't even give you a choice to say you didn't want to be close to me. I'm sorry for forcing you," she apologizes again. Jess shakes his head.

"What if I like it?" He asks before he knows what he's doing.

"Like what?"

"Being close to you?"

It slips out but Jess can't take it back now. He curses the rational part of his brain for losing out to the stupid part that kept making an appearance. She has a boyfriend, you're asking for it, Mariano, he scolds himself.

Rory looks at him like a deer in headlights and he begins kicking himself mentally, wondering how to steer this conversation away from him getting his soul crushed. He had to be realistic with himself now; he kind've sort've maybe did have feelings for Rory, and it would kind've sort've suck to be reminded again that she had a boyfriend and thus couldn't have her.

"Rory, I…" He starts his apology, hoping to deflect the awkward tension rising.

"Jess, I might not be able to go to the Intrepid Center anymore," Rory blurts out. Jess internally heaves a gigantic sigh. She had successfully steered them clear. He's happy until the weight of what she's saying hits him.

"Oh."

"I have to go tonight to find out if Ms. Leon has approved it," she continues, biting her lip.

Jess shrugs. "It is what it is."

"You're not upset?" Rory checks, searching his face. She looks disappointed, and Jess runs his hand through his hair.

"If you have to go, does me being upset change that?" He asks seriously. She looks like she's mulling it over before she sighs.

"No, I guess not."

"Okay then. No need to worry," he says simply.

"Hey Jess?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you go there, anyway?"

Evasive maneuver. "You hungry? We can go get food or something since you… hey, did you ditch school to come talk to me?"

Rory flushes again and he knows his answer.

"S-stop trying to change the subject," she demands loosely, fidgeting with her hands.

"So you did miss me, Teach," he teases. She glares at him and he settles for smiling back at her.

"Fine. But you know I have access to your file," Rory threatens, smoothing out her skirt. "I could just look."

Jess shrugs and locks eyes with her, a challenge. "Isn't it more fun trying to convince me?" His eyes dance with laughter.

Rory rolls her eyes. She tries to glare again but it just comes out as a smile. Jess laughs.

"Jess, I don't know how to do this."

"Do what?"

"This? Talk to you like a regular person? Live in the same town as you?"

Jess feels his pride deflating a little. "Like a regular person? You think I'm some hot head like the rest of those dinks."

He stands up in mild frustration. Jess definitely wasn't ready for this conversation. He turns away from Rory, trying to compose himself. He knows he isn't making a case for himself by overreacting. Rory scrambles up after him and grabs his shoulder.

"No, Jess, that's not what I mean. I mean just being able to talk to you because I want to, when I want to. Not just in snippets after group when we both have long commutes because we're required to be in the same place."

Jess turns to look at Rory then. He felt better about her reply. He looks at her hand on his shoulder and the proximity of their faces. He can feel the static between them.

"Do you feel it?" She asks suddenly.

Jess tenses. "Feel what?" How did she know?

She looks embarrassed and looks down at her shoes shyly. "Nothing. Nevermind."

Jess pinches the bridge of his nose. He could tell her that he knows exactly what she's talking about, that he feels it too, and that it shocks him every single time. But Rory plasters on a smile and looks back up at him, and he knows he's missed the moment to respond again.

"Well, anyway, I just wanted to tell you that… that I was sorry and that I might see you less," she says, shifting her weight into her right hip.

"Okay," Jess says softly. "But you know, we live in the same town now." He watches a look of confusion cross her face.

"We don't have to see each other less," he points out, shoving his hands in his pocket.

"Really?" She smiles brightly now. He wants to smile back but he doesn't.

"Yeah. Whenever," he says with a shrug, waving his arm at the surrounding area. She smiles again and shivers, looking around them.

"Rory?"

She looks back at him, still smiling. He doesn't want her to stop looking at him like that, he realizes. But he wants to ask and he knows he has to, because that smile belongs to somebody else.

"What about your boyfriend?"

And just like that, the smile is wiped from her face. She knits her eyebrows together and digs her shoe into the bridge.

"What about him?"

"He'll be okay with us spending time together? Once he finds out who I am, I mean," Jess asks, looking down at his shoes, too. "I kinda ticked the guy off pretty bad."

"Well… maybe not," she mumbles, pouting.

Jess laughs. He throws an arm around Rory's shoulder, doing his best to make it seem like a friendly gesture. She startles for a moment before allowing him to lead her away from the bridge and back to the diner.

"We'll see each other around," he assures her lightly, absently letting his thumb rub the back of her shoulder. "Your life will be too dull without me."

Rory rolls her eyes. She then smiles and nods, sighing. Once they get closer to the town, she shrugs her shoulder. Jess takes this as his cue to back off. It doesn't feel good, but he knows this is out of line anyway. It started as a friendly gesture, but admittedly it felt nice to have his arm around her. It was just something about the way she let him step over that line that made him want to keep pushing his luck.

"Well, I should probably get going," Rory says suddenly, smiling apologetically at Jess.

He clears his throat and nods. "Back to school?"

"I mean, I did cut class. I should probably head back."

"I was serious about whether you were hungry," he hears himself saying. "Not right now, I guess, because you have to go. But maybe if you don't get kicked out of group, we can go somewhere next Tuesday."

Rory looks pained. "Jess, I—"

"It's not a date," he holds his hand up in surrender. "It's just food. You eat, don't you?"

"I eat," she confirms.

"You can even tell whatshisname to come."

"Dean?"

What a dinky name.

"Yeah, him."

Rory smiles. "Okay. I'll think about it."

Jess chuckles and shrugs. "Whatever."

The two continue to walk for a bit and Rory steps away. "I parked the car at home," she explains.

"Okay."

She starts to pull off the gloves, handing them back over to Jess. "Here, before I steal them."

He looks at the gloves and shakes his head. "Keep 'em. I have more at Luke's."

Rory looks like she wants to protest but doesn't. She just smiles softly. "Bye Jess."

"Bye Rory."

She turns around and then hesitates. Jess watches her curiously. Rory whips back around and steps into him. Jess reacts instinctively and wraps his arms around her for the second time in 24 hours. It's a much quicker hug this time; the tension feels more pronounced, and it seems like both of them need to step away. There was that static again.

"Oh God," Rory mumbles to herself. "Bye!" She starts to hurry away.

"Rory!"

She turns around, looking panicked.

He now looks down, suddenly shy. Jess had never been so vulnerable with anyone, and he really wasn't a fan. He would rather go back to his days of only giving a crap about himself. None of this emotional stuff. He smiles a small smile to himself, thinking about how his mother once said he was like his uncle. He's only been with Luke for two days now, but he figures it's true.

"I feel it, too."

An unreadable look comes on her face. She looks like she wants to respond, but she bites her lip and rushes towards home.

He groans and looks at the sky. What was he doing? He was just asking for trouble, he knew it.

But she hugged you. Again, his brain tells him. Jess considers this.

That was true. Maybe he was asking for trouble. She had a boyfriend. But boyfriends weren't husbands, and even those weren't permanent. Liz had sure taught him that. But maybe he had a shot at this, too. She did initiate a hug, twice. She had cut school to come talk to him. Jess didn't want to be bold, but he had a feeling she'd never cut class for Dean.

He purses his lips and shakes his head.

You don't know what she's thinking, he reminds himself. You could just be an infatuation.

This one stings and he snaps his jacket closed, zipping it up. He turns to head back to the diner, lost in his thoughts. An infatuation? Only one way to find out.


Rory walks to her house quickly. She gets inside of the jeep again and just sits, staring ahead of her. Her heart was pounding in her chest.

He feels it, too?

Rory smiles, feeling a little giddy at the returned sentiment. She leans her head back on her seat. So she wasn't crazy. That felt good to know, at least.

But she still didn't understand why it felt like sparks were quite literally flying whenever she was next to this kid. She never felt this way with Dean, even in the beginning.

She sighs in frustration at her realization. She had hugged Jess again, a guy who wasn't her guy, she she couldn't take it back. What's more, Rory finally admits to herself, she didn't want to take it back.

After a moment of sitting with her thoughts, Rory realizes that she's been absently running her thumb over the gloves. She looks down at the charcoal fabric and wonders how long Jess has owned these. They're comfortable but loose—just a bit too big for her small hands.

She wonders what holding his hand feels like. Not the brushing that comes from taking gloves from him, but really lacing her fingers with his, feeling the warmth of his palms against hers.

It probably wouldn't have mattered if she'd reached out to touch him; after all, Jess let Rory hug him, didn't he? So maybe she could have, if she wanted to. Jess had finally made it pretty clear to her that he might like her, hadn't he?

Either that or he's just messing with you like always, she tells herself.

Rory shakes her head. That would be cruel of him, and Jess wasn't that kind of guy, she decides.

She ignores the thoughts telling her that she doesn't actually know him very well. Jess was great as far as she was concerned. He was intelligent and quick witted and warm, and he seemed to treat her nicer than anyone else around her. And she loved his eyes, the way they peered into her as he smirked...

"I wonder what his lips feel like," she hears herself saying.

Rory's eyes bug out of her head and she clamps her hand over her mouth, as if others could hear her.

"Oh my God, oh my God," she mumbles to herself over and over. She reaches for the keys, turns them into the ignition, and starts backing out to return to Chilton.

What was she doing thinking about Jess's hands? His possible feelings for her? His lips? She had a boyfriend. She had Dean. She should only be thinking about Dean's hands and lips and anything else. She loved Dean!

Right?


AN: I hope you liked the fluff! I like this Jess better - the moody kid who is more open about his feelings. I know we didn't get a lot of Rory's perspective this time around, but I thought it was important to tap into how Jess feels about Rory, since we don't get that in the show. :) Hopefully the reworked elements of canon work here! Thank you all for the reviews and feedback. I wish my anonymous folks had accounts so I could reply to their reviews, but know that I cherish them all. Taming Hemingway is going to take a little priority for the next few weeks over the other fanfictions because it's coming more naturally. You Can't Protest Everything is second in command right now... anyways, the next chapter of this should hopefully be up by the new year :) Thanks for the follows - please continue to review, it really helps me out to know what's working!