Disclaimer: I do not own the excerpts of literature in this chapter; I merely appreciate them:)

AN: I'm sorry for the emotional distress of last chapter, but I really needed to write it for three reasons! 1) because Rory needed to be told how it was; 2) because it moves the story so that Literati can manifest; and 3) because WHO DOESN'T LOVE THE VERBAL SPARS OF RORY AND JESS? They're my favourite. This chapter is a lot of different perspectives, minimal Rory. I needed a break from her.

Welcome to all of the new "Followers"! Thanks so much for that and for favoriting :) I'd love for you to spend an extra moment or two to review, let me know why you're here xo I do take requests and feedback seriously! A reviewer reached out wanting more Jess/Ms. Leon interactions so I incorporated one in (it had been in the works anyways!) and I will incorporate more later to indulge their request :)

I'm sorry that I haven't been able to personally respond to all of the reviews yet from last chapter yet, but I will :) You consistent reviewers make my world go 'round, and thus, I dedicate this eleventh chapter to you! aka the LONGEST chapter of Taming Hemingway eva! (with the longest AN eva)

xx

Lorelai pinches the bridge of her nose, falling heavily onto a seat across from Rory, who had just finished unloading the entire day onto her. Rory, her mess of a daughter. Her mess of a daughter over a boy. And not just any boy, but Luke's nephew, who she had met in anger management. Rory was eighteen; it was about time for some soap box type drama, wasn't it?

She needed to be supportive. That much she knew. She hated Jess for making Rory cry. She hated him for being a jerk and causing her straight-A, Harvard-bound daughter to run out on her responsibilities. She hated him for making her lie to Ms. Leon about Rory needing to leave. She hated him for not giving Rory a chance to talk to him, for throwing Shane in her face.

And yet.

Am I a terrible mother? Have I become Emily Gilmore?

"Mom, are you okay?" Rory asks in a small voice.

"I think I had a mild stroke. I'm fine," Lorelai assures her, shaking her head.

"So what now?" Lorelai adds, trying for a light hearted smile. Rory frowns across from her and fresh tears spill over.

Okay, smile failed. Note taken. No smiling.

"Babe," Lorelai soothes, reaching out a hand to rub Rory's sleeve. Her daughter throws her arm onto the table and buries her head into it. I swear I'm going to kick Jess's ass for making my kid cry.

"I don't want new shoes, mom," Rory mumbles from her sleeve.

"You don't want new shoes?" Lorelai asks incredulously, her eyes raising in pure confusion.

"Shoes?" Rory looks up now, equally confused.

"Rewind; what did you say?"

"I don't know what to do," Rory repeats, emphasizing every word to make sure she was clear.

"Oh. Sorry. That makes so much more sense. I thought you were losing it," Lorelai breathes out, shaking her head. Rory just blinks.

"I am losing it," Rory admits, breathing heavily through her mouth. She rubs her nose with her sleeve. "I mean, he hates me. Jess hates me. I told you what he said."

"You did, but I don't remember you saying he hated you," Lorelai points out.

"Okay, but he basically said it."

"Oh, Rory. I know it seems really terrible right now, and trust me, being told you're not worth it by your crush sucks of epic proportions—seriously, they erect statues for martyrs like you who get clobbered in the name of love—, but it will get better. Trust my wisdom," Lorelai nods sincerely. The look on Rory's face isn't reassuring and Lorelai rubs her forehead.

Maybe Rory had forgotten Jess said she wasn't worth it. Maybe I shouldn't have reminded her.

"But we never even had a chance to have a failed relationship," Rory says sadly, quietly. She looks so small and fragile that it cracks Lorelai's heart in half. Stupid, stupid, stupid Jess.

"Screw Jess," Lorelai says suddenly, slamming her hand down on the table. Rory jumps. Ouch. "You're so worth it. You're the most 'worth it' kid ever. If you're worth giving birth to at 4:03 in the morning at sixteen, you're worth some smart ass kid's attention—"

"Mom!"

"What?"

"Did I do this?"

It's a loaded question. God, what was the answer? Lorelai hesitates.

"Mom?" Rory asks again, clearing her throat.

"Yes," Lorelai says with conviction, letting out a breath that she didn't realize she was holding. Hard part over. She musters up a serious face, one that she hopes conveys motherly wisdom.

"Yes you hear me, or…"

"Yes."

Rory looks at her and makes a noise that falls somewhere between hyperventilation and a choked back sob. Lorelai's facial expression breaks and she reaches out again, placing her hand over Rory's. Rory pulls her hand back, wipes a tear, and hugs her body. Lorelai frowns and pulls her own hand back.

"What?" she questions, crossing her arms.

"I just…"

"Wasn't expecting me to tell you the truth?"

Emily would be proud, Lorelai thinks bemusedly as Rory shoots her a fierce look that could rival any ice sculpture in coldness.

"Then why did you ask?" Lorelai continues, shrugging.

"You could have eased me into it," Rory admits, crossing her arms over her chest, looking off to the side. For the briefest of seconds, Lorelai wants to roll her eyes, but she doesn't. She simply takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. Rory needed to hear the truth, but she'd already had quite the battle today.

"Maybe," Lorelai admits, offering a sympathetic smile. Rory sighs, and when she looks back at her mother, her eyes are softer. Less angry and defiant; more sad, desperate.

"Can I fix this?" Rory's voice is small, barely above a whisper.

"I don't know," Lorelai says honestly, uncrossing her arms to lay her hands on the table. "But running away from things isn't gonna help. Trust me, kid, I've done my fair share of that, and it definitely doesn't make things easier. Friday night dinners are a glaring testament of that."

A ghost of a smile crosses Rory's lips. Gaining momentum by the minimal encourager, Lorelai chooses to dive right in.

"I need to ask you again… what are you going to do?"

"I thought we established that Jess hates me."

"We don't know how Jess feels, other than that he's hurt right now. Which I can't blame him for—"

"You're taking his side?"

"I'm not taking anyone's side, but I can understand why he's acting how he's acting. And I wasn't talking about Jess."

"You weren't?" Rory furrows her eyebrows, confused. Lorelai finally can't suppress the eye roll and lets it fly.

"Dean," she answers exasperatedly, flinging her hands up for emphasis. "Your boyfriend who, by the way, called three times for you today."

A mixture of pain and irritation cross Rory's features and she tenses. Lorelai continues.

"Yeah. I haven't heard you mention him once," Lorelai continues. Rory seems to shrink back in her seat and Lorelai softens. "Look, I don't mean to make you feel bad. I know you only just decided to try to figure things out with Jess. But just because Jess isn't where you want him to be right now doesn't mean you should continue to be dishonest to Dean."

"I haven't been... " Rory begins defensively but cuts herself off. There's a look of defeat on her face before she rubs her eyes furiously. "You're right."

"I… I am right," Lorelai falters at first, not expecting Rory's sudden change. Lorelai eyes her daughter suspiciously but, finding no hint of some scheming bear trap to fall into, continues. "Do you love Dean?"

"No wait," Lorelai shakes her head, waving her hand enthusiastically. Need to approach this differently. I know she loves him. That's not enough to make a relationship work. "Have you ever felt in love with Dean?"

"Yes," Rory answers quickly.

"Do you still feel in love with Dean?"

"I don't know," she answers sharply, looking back up at Lorelai.

"Well you need to figure that out," Lorelai delivers cooly, shrugging with indifference. "Because it isn't fair for you to stay with Dean out of convenience."

"I'm not with him out of convenience!" Rory flares. "I know I'm a mess right now, but I do love Dean. I don't want to hurt him. Can't you see that? I don't want to hurt anyone!"

Rory bolts from the table and stalks off into her room. Shaking her head, Lorelai follows her quickly, before the door can slam in her face.

"This conversation isn't over."

"Yes it is."

"No it isn't, not when I have to call and lie to your teacher because of a boy," Lorelai scoffs, crossing her arms. "You don't get to just shut it down."

"You're not allowed to use the mom card twice in one week," Rory accuses her weakly.

"I can do whatever I want!" Lorelai remarks. "I can eat chocolate for breakfast every day if I want to, I can sit all day and watch TV and get really terrible cramps in my back, because I've done my time, I've earned my right. You're only eighteen. You have a ways to go."

The tension between them hangs heavily, shifting spaces like a pendulum as the two exchange frowns. Sometime not that long ago, Lorelai had had resolve to be supportive, hadn't she? Yelling at Rory probably didn't quite meet that mark. She runs her hands through her hair, letting them fall to her thighs.

"I'm not going to throw away what I have with Dean on a chance," Rory says quietly, staring at her toes. "I know it seems wrong and unfair, and it probably is. But I didn't feel so disconnected from Dean until Jess came around… who knows, maybe it's just a phase."

Lorelai begins to protest, but Rory's gaze cuts her off.

"If Jess doesn't want to be with me, then okay. Let him be with Malibu Barbie—"

"Shane," Lorelai corrects with a smirk.

"—Shane, Rainbow, Alkaseltzer, whatever her name is," Rory rolls her eyes, the faintest of smirks tugging at her lips. "If he's going to take himself out of the picture, then I'll just learn how to be civil around him so Luke's isn't a nightmare."

"I won't have to see him anywhere else," Rory continues, rambling. She begins to pace around her room. "Maybe the occasional run-in at Doose's or the video store, but otherwise, that's it. And since he won't be around to confuse me or stir up whatever it is I've been feeling for him, things with me and Dean will go back to normal, and it'll be great and easy and safe."

"If that's what you want," Lorelai replies weakly, gently moving her tongue against the roof of her mouth. She'd been biting it to refrain from derailing the conversation.

"It is," Rory nods furiously, walking over to her mother and embracing her. Lorelai doesn't hesitate to return the embrace, happy to be able to let her emotions show on her face away from the vulnerable eyes of her offspring. She pulls away and takes a few steps back.

"You've had a tough day. I'll let you rest," Lorelai suggests, smiling. Rory nods and smiles back, but it doesn't reach her eyes. Lorelai notices but doesn't comment; she's sure the same is mirrored in her own demeanor.

Lorelai closes the door and quietly leans against it, letting the wood take the brunt of her weight. Where had this conversation even gotten them? Score one for successfully diffusing the emoti-bomb that was Rory, sure, but at what cost? Somehow Lorelai didn't feel any more certain about this than she had the other day. Should she have intervened, told Rory to break up with Dean to figure her life out? Run after Jess, force him to talk about how he felt? No, that wouldn't have helped; Rory probably wouldn't have listened anyway. Lorelai sighs and pushes herself off of the door, immediately dragging herself toward the stairs.

Rory was in denial—that much was obvious. Who knew how long it would take for her to do the right thing for herself? Poor Dean was going to be a casualty; she could see it now, unfolding in a gigantic, ugly burst of fireworks. Lorelai couldn't protect Rory, logical, meticulous, rational Rory, who was acting illogical, careless, and irrational at best. No; this was something Rory needed to work out on her own, in her own time. Lord knows that Lorelai had needed to have her fair share of things blow up in her face to make her stronger.

Lorelai sighs.

If she learned nothing else from me, it's how to run away screaming from your feelings, Lorelai thinks bitterly. They should make a show about us, about people who lie to themselves and eat too much junk food. They can call it 'Denial with a Side of Fries: A Comedy.'

Lorelai casts one last wistful look toward Rory's room as she places a hand on the banister of the stairs. She didn't like Jess, but she knew one thing was certain: he was who her daughter truly wanted. Rory could hide from her feelings all she wanted, and hell, Jess could too. But the fact remained that less than a week prior, the two were willing to withstand all collateral damage in an almost-kiss; that was no small thing, and Lorelai knew that no amount of willpower or compartmentalization on Rory's end was going to magically erase the chemistry between the two.

It was now simply a matter of waiting until Rory realized that, too.

"Poor Dean," Lorelai whispers to herself, finally tearing her eyes away to walk up the stairs.

xx

He sits across from Ms. Leon in her office, the two staring at each other awkwardly. The room reminds him of Principal Jeffreys' office and he frowns at the realization. He breaks eye contact with the social worker and looks around, scanning the bookshelves against the walls for anything worthwhile. A lot of group work books, books about working with diverse populations. Nothing catches his interest and he sighs, finally turning his gaze back onto the blonde across from him.

"So I'm here," Jess says with a tinge of annoyance. What was she going to do? Stare at him all night? There were other things he could do with his time.

"So you are," Ms. Leon agrees, amusement dancing in her eyes. A few more moments pass in silence. Jess scowls.

"You gonna give me a pep talk or what?" He asks impatiently. He jabs a finger behind him. "''Cuz I have places to be."

Ms. Leon leans back in her chair and offers him an unimpressed look. She purses her lips and slightly swivels in her chair, keeping her eyes focused on him. Jess lets out a heavy breath through his nose, stretching himself out lazily. He crosses his arms and gives her a blank look, waiting.

"Would you happen to know anything about Ms. Gilmore's departure?" She asks evenly, raising an eyebrow. He smirks.

"Sounds like you're asking me to disclose private information about a client," Jess points out casually, shrugging his shoulders. "Haven't pulled out your Code of Ethics lately?"

He eyes her, challenging her. Take the bait. He waits, poised, ready to get a snappy dismissal. Put him out of his misery. Come on, I'm just some punk kid to you. Take the bait.

To his chagrin, Ms. Leon chuckles.

What the hell.

She wasn't supposed to laugh. She was supposed to call him a pretentious good for nothing and tell him to take a hike. That's what teachers always did. Jess frowns, feeling like he'd lost something he could count on.

"You know, Jess," Ms. Leon says, smiling. "You remind me a lot of my nephew."

"Great," Jess groans, throwing himself back into the chair. To say he was disinterested in bonding with Ms. Leon would be the understatement of the century. Luke had tried to do a bonding thing with him two days ago; at least, he thinks that's what it was. He'd managed to get Luke flustered, though. Ms. Leon's face grows serious then and he averts his gaze, preparing for the impending lecture.

"He's not really a verbal person either."

Jess blinks.

"He would say that… what was it," she offers distractedly, pawing at a piece of paper on her desk. Jess raises an eyebrow and leans in a bit. He hadn't noticed the open file on her desk. His open file.

Hey, for once I don't have a thick file, he marvels to himself.

"... that the talking thing comes and goes," she says with a smile, wiggling her eyebrows at him. Jess rolls his eyes, but can't help leaning forward in the chair, letting his eyes look toward the file. He had said that in a therapy session months ago.

"Is everything I talk about in there?" he asks curiously, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep… though, as you can tell, your file isn't exactly an anthology," Ms. Leon notes, shrugging before letting the file close on her desk again.

Jess shrugs in kind and props his elbow up on his knee, resting his head in his hands. His head was beginning to hurt. Too much small talk couldn't be good for him.

"Look, Jess," Ms. Leon sighs. "I've read your file. Not this one," she taps it with her finger, "but the one from your old high school. I know you're mandated to be here, and I know you don't think that you need anger management."

"Because I don't," Jess informs her.

"I'm sure it feels pretty obnoxious to be made to go to a group when you feel that the fight that landed you here wasn't your fault."

It's a statement, not a question. Jess looks askance at Ms. Leon, searching her face. Was this sincere or some reverse psychology bullshit to make him open up? He wouldn't put it past her. This was her job, after all. Oh well. He'd bite. Jess nods.

"Can I tell you something about myself? Full disclosure," she asks, shifting gears, a smirk tugging at her lips.

"Are you trying to bond with me? Because my uncle tries, and I gotta tell you, it doesn't work out so well for him," Jess supplies casually.

"You caught me," Ms. Leon holds up her hands in surrender, guilty as charged. "But I was the poor kid in a rich school, too. And while I didn't end up in group therapy, I did end up in my fair share of fights." She pauses, dipping her head to meet his eyes. Jess doesn't look at her, but he gathers that she realizes he's listening because she continues.

"Ugh, like this one girl. Stacy McDowell. What a freakin' peach, that girl was," the woman grimaces, shaking her head. "I had to stay after-school and clap erasers for hours while all she got was a warning. Smaller example, but I'm sure it sounds familiar."

Jess feels himself getting annoyed for some reason. He didn't want her to try to relate to him. She had no idea what his life had been like in New York; the rich brats at school were only a part of the full problem.

"My principal also recommended I see a therapist. Saw the fights as a character flaw of mine. Mind you, my parents' money wasn't filling his pockets, so it was easy to blame it on the poor kid. And I hated every second of it until I decided to stop fighting it, and that really was transformative for me."

"Am I supposed to be inspired or something?" Jess asks sardonically, crossing his arms over his chest to glare at her. Ms. Leon doesn't flinch or change her facial expression; she simply stares back, folding her hands together on her desk.

"No. I just wanted you to know that just because I appear one way to you, doesn't mean I have absolutely no concept of what frustration looks like. And I also wanted to end on that note because I think if you let it, the group could be useful in working through other underlying factors. It might be freeing."

Jess glares and grits his teeth. Suddenly, he hears Rory's curt voice in his head, and his blood pressure rises.

"... maybe you could benefit from shifting your perspective." She had delivered it evenly, pointedly, coldly. He was tired of people assuming they knew more about how he saw things when they couldn't even open up themselves.

Except Ms. Leon did just open up to you, dumbass, his subconscious volleys sharply. He pushes it down, letting himself ride out the momentum.

"Thanks for your nugget of wisdom, Spinoza," Jess snaps. "Hey, here's an idea though. How about we get to the point of why you really asked me to stay? Cause I know it involved Rory, and since she's not here, maybe you can just cut to the chase and let me go at a decent hour. You know, free me and all."

"I want to know what happened in group today," Ms. Leon replies, not missing a beat. Jess shifts uncomfortably, clicking his tongue in annoyance.

"You were there."

"Right, I watched the car crash happen. But I don't know what caused it."

"You really do need Rory here," Jess dismisses, waving his hand flippantly. "She orchestrated it."

"And you had no role?" Ms. Leon shakes her head skeptically.

"No, I didn't," Jess flares, gripping the armrest of the chair.

"You seem to be getting quite angry about it," Ms. Leon muses, "for somebody who had no investment in the banter."

He didn't need this. Fuck her and her trying to get in his business. Jess shakes his head and grabs his jacket from the back of the chair. He had no role in this. None. Rory had made it very clear when she chose Dean over him. What was he supposed to do, just sit back and let her attack him in group?

"Mr. Mariano, we aren't done here," Ms. Leon's voice rises as he heads for the door.

"You can stay as long as you want," he throws over his shoulder. "But me? Yeah, I'm pretty done here."

"You have no idea how this works, do you." It was a statement, not a question. Jess releases his hand from the door and turns slowly to face her.

"I send progress to Principal Jeffreys," Ms. Leon reveals, placing a hand on his file again. "I tell him whether you've made progress."

"Like I give a shit about what you think," Jess retorts.

"It isn't about whether you care, Jess. Without my reports saying that you're doing better, your case can be terminated."

Jess can't hide the look of hopefulness on his face. Wait, really? He would have let Phillip hit him all those months ago if it would have gotten him thrown out.

"Huh," is all he says.

"Don't get any ideas," she says evenly. "If your case is terminated, it means the school won't release your transcripts to count toward your new high school credits."

All hope of an early escape drains from Jess's face.

"The quiet ones are always quick connectors," she says mostly to herself. "So you know that means you could be held back and still need to pay off the fines for the trophy case."

Jess was fuming. The more this conversation dragged on, the more it felt like a threat. Like an ultimatum. Be a good boy and play nice or else.

"I really need to see some effort from you. Up until now, I've been generous. But I don't have to be."

Jess narrows his eyes. He didn't do ultimatums. Well, unless you counted being shipped off to Stars Hollow. But he'd kind of wanted to go after the spectacle with Liz.

Liz. He hadn't thought about her in weeks. He files a mental note to come up with a casual way to bring her up to Luke.

"And I determine our interns," Ms. Leon adds pointedly. Jess tenses at her reference to a certain blue-eyed brunette.

"So I'd really like you to take a chance, lay down that 'The world can bite my ass' facade you have going on, and level with me a little. Because if I don't fully understand what's going on, I have to make uninformed decisions that affect multiple people. And since you participated in the violation of group code of conduct today, you did play a role."

Jess clenches his fist. He had a choice to make. He could care less about his transcripts. He hated high school anyway. Stars Hollow High was a far cry from academic excellence; he'd be better off just dropping out and getting his GED. (Luke wouldn't stand for that, though. This much he knew about his uncle.) So it didn't really matter to him if he was terminated from group. His mind attempts to bring up the fact that it meant he'd see Rory even less, but he pushes it down into the realm of thoughts that serve zero purpose.

But if he stayed, it meant he was playing into Ms. Leon's hand. It meant he was helping Rory. Chivalry wasn't his thing, but he had tried for her. He had tried to be open and unassuming and vulnerable, for Christ's sake. He'd practically thrown himself at her. And she had spit on it. So she didn't deserve his help, not after the petulant crap she'd put him through three times that day. Rory was a big girl, and if she was going to run away every time things got messy, she was in for a rude awakening.

He shakes his head.

"You'll have to talk to Rory. As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing going on with us," he answers honestly, surprising himself. "You won't get any outbursts from me so long as princess minds her manners."

And, without so much as an attempt to protect Rory from the consequences of her actions, Jess turns back around and closes the door behind him.

Rory could deal with the repercussions.

He didn't need to be her savior.

xx

"Alright, spill."

Jess looks up lazily from his book a few days later, elbows propped up on the diner counter.

"Okay. That shirt does make you look fat," Jess informs his uncle before dropping his head to go back to his book.

"Ha ha," Luke drawls sarcastically. He points the rag in his hand accusingly at his nephew.

"You've been acting weird the past few days, and I'm tired of seeing your ass on that stool reading," Luke continues decisively. Jess gives him a disinterested glance, but Luke notes the vein in his neck. Struck a nerve.

Luke wasn't the most observant person, but Jess had been around for a few weeks now. He wasn't an expert on the kid by any means, but he knew when Jess wasn't being himself. He went in and out of being this moody, moping kid to being positively nuclear, a bomb waiting to go off. One minute Jess was actually asking if Luke needed the bathroom before hogging it to work on his hair, and the next he was yelling at him over God knows what. Today it was the silent brooding, and it was really working his last nerve.

What's more, Luke noticed that periodically when the bell chimed over the diner door, his nephew would tense and tentatively glance toward the entrance, not making any sudden movements otherwise. Luke had been kind of thrown off and confused at first, but once he noticed a steady absence of Lorelai's other half, Luke had started putting two and two together.

It was just a matter of making Dallas Winston over there spill his guts a little.

"Come on Jess," Luke persists, leaning in closer to his nephew. "If you won't talk, you'd better get your ass to work; I don't pay you to sulk." Jess grimaces and lets his eyes trail up to Luke's face, offering him a menacing look.

Jess begins to retort when the bell over the door chimes again, followed by the loud ramblings of Lorelai Gilmore. He watches as Jess sucks in a breath, his fingers involuntarily gripping the page he's on. Luke, confused, looks up and realizes that Lorelai isn't just rambling loudly. She's rambling loudly to somebody else, and that somebody was Rory.

Lorelai stops talking, and Luke looks from Jess, to Lorelai, to Rory, and then down at his rag. An uncomfortable silence sprouts between the two pairs, and Luke swears he hears an eagle cawl. The diner gets so quiet so quickly that he's certain they've been transported into some old Western movie, and he tentatively peers over the counter, half expecting a tumbleweed to go on by.

Lorelai exchanges a look with him, and she nods subtly toward Rory. Luke's gaze travels over to her. Rory looks like all of the blood has drained out of her face as she stares not quite at Jess, but off to the side of his torso. Her chest rises and falls in ragged, shallow breaths.

He looks back at his nephew, noting the color also draining from his face.

"Coffee?" Luke asks awkwardly, breaking the silence. It's almost like his interruption unpauses the scene, and the conversations in the diner become louder, the clanking of utensils more pronounced. It's also almost as if it mobilizes the teenagers, who begin moving and talking at the same time.

"Gotta go."

"I'll be upstairs."

Before Lorelai and Luke can blink, Jess expertly slides himself off of the stool, bolting behind the curtain to the upstairs apartment; Rory disappears out of the diner, the only indication that she'd been there at all the sound of the bell banging against the wood.

"What the hell just happened?" Luke exclaims, exasperated. Lorelai sighs and offers him a small smile, sliding onto a stool a few away from the one Jess had previously occupied.

"Teenage hormones?" Lorelai offers lightheartedly, smiling as he places a cup of coffee in front of her. He loved her smile.

Focus.

"What are you saying?" Luke asks, placing both hands on the counter.

"Can I get some service over here?" Kirk chimes in from the corner, waving a menu around.

"In a minute Kirk," Luke calls gruffly, a look of mild annoyance plastered on his face.

"Okay, I'm counting," Kirk answers with dedication, staring at his watch. That guy was one jacket short of an insane asylum; Luke swore to it. He shakes his head, eyes going back to the woman in front of him.

"I'm saying," she emphasizes, placing her cup down, "that we witnessed the aftermath of a lover's quarrel."

Lovers? Quarrel? Jess and Rory? Jess and Rory?! He had assumed there was a weird fight happening between the two, but now that Lorelai had verbalized feelings involved, it made so much more sense.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Luke asks, his mouth dropping open. He continues in a stage whisper, "They're dating? How the hell did I miss that?!"

"Not dating," Lorelai corrects quickly.

Not dating? So no feelings involved? Luke scratches his head.

"Then wh—"

"It's been a minute, Luke."

"Kirk, give me another minute."

"I can't do that Luke." Luke glares, but Kirk straightens up and continues. "You told me a minute and now it's been a minute and… twenty one, two, three seconds, and you still haven't taken my order. I can't trust that you'll actually come this t—"

"Shut up, Kirk!" Babette yells from the table in the corner, Miss Patty nodding fervently.

"But…"

"We're trying to listen to what's going on with Rory and Jess," Miss Patty hisses, effectively shutting Kirk up. He pouts and crosses his arms, resuming the intense scrutiny of the second hands ticking away on his watch.

"I need to move," Luke mutters to himself, absentmindedly refilling Lorelai's coffee mug. She smiles but it fades quickly as she leans toward him across the counter.

Her face is so close, he can practically smell her shampoo. Luke closes his eyes, deciding that it makes him a creep to do that without permission, and retreats a step.

"So what's going on with them?" He says in a whisper, eyeing the peanut gallery to his right.

"Rory and Jess knew each other before Jess moved here," Lorelai explains.

Luke nods.

"I know."

"You know? How do you know?" Lorelai wants to know, her mouth agape.

"My kid talks to me too," Luke says flatly, raising an eyebrow. Honestly, it was as if she thought he didn't know which side of Jess was his front or back.

"Jess doesn't talk, he grunts and mumbles," Lorelai disagrees. "I can't believe you knew! And you were holding out on me."

"Holding out?" Luke asks incredulously. "You already knew!"

"Yeah, but you didn't know that I knew."

"So doesn't that mean you've been holding out on me?"

"I…" Lorelai falters, a victim of her own game. Luke smirks and rubs the counter with his towel again, feeling smug.

"I call a rematch."

"What?"

"Yeah, a rematch of this conversation."

"You can't call a rematch of a conversation."

"Says who?"

"Says any sane person."

"Aha, see that's where you've been duped! I am arguably less sane than most people," Lorelai challenges, smiling.

"You can say that again," Luke shakes his head, unable to hide a smile from gracing his face. The two exchange a lighthearted, warm smile. Luke sighs in contentment.

I love her. Whoa. What? Love her?

"Luke?" Lorelai questions. Luke snaps to attention, averting her eyes. He feared that if she looked at him, what he'd just thought would be all over his face. And that wasn't territory he was willing to cross.

"Nothing, sorry. So they go to anger management, what's that got to do with it?" Luke backpedals, clearing his threat.

"Well ironically," Lorelai whispers, "they fought at anger management. But prior to this Rory, God knows why, likes Jess, and when she went to talk to him to tell him the other day, I guess she saw him with Shane."

Ah. That made sense.

"I was wondering why she peeled out of here Tuesday morning," he says, nodding in understanding.

"Yeah. So later that night they fought like I said. Jess basically told Rory to take a hike and she came home a mess."

Lorelai leans back away from the counter. Luke mulls this over in his head. Jess was acting too weird for him to have zero interest Rory. Something had to give with that. Forgetting how dangerous it felt to be so close to Lorelai, Luke leans in again.

"Okay, but Jess has been a wreck the last few days. Moodier than usual, if you can imagine."

"I can but I'm not sure I want to," Lorelai admits.

"Yeah, well, be glad you have that option. I don't get why he would just tell Rory to take a hike. She'd be great for him."

"I think he feels kinda used by her," Lorelai admits sadly, frowning.

Luke ponders this, searching her face. This was strange. There was no overt threat to Jess's wellbeing coming out of her mouth. If he didn't know any better, and really he didn't, it sounded like Lorelai was empathizing with his nephew.

"I'm missing something," he decides quietly, shaking his head.

"What was that, sugar?" Babette crows from the table. Luke and Lorelai turn towards the blonde, practically falling over in her chair to lean in, along with Miss Patty.

"You guys are insane," Luke informs them, scowling. Lorelai smiles and tugs on his sleeve, gesturing to follow her. He raises a questioning eyebrow but doesn't protest. He simply follows her into the storage room, closing the door behind them.

"Eew, you have pickled radish?" Lorelai asks, wrinkling her nose in disgust, pointing at a set of jars to her right.

"Yes, believe it or not, I carry things other than coffee grounds and the basic ingredients for cheeseburgers, pancakes, and pie," Luke deadpans, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"And here I thought your world revolved around me," she teases with a smile. Luke swallows and shifts uncomfortably, crossing his arms. As if planned, Lorelai does the same, a small shade of pink rising to her cheeks.

"So…." Luke trails off, shrugging his shoulders forward in a gesture that meant she should continue.

"Okay, right," Lorelai nods quickly, seemingly grateful for the reminder. "Rory and Jess aren't dating."

"You told me. And he feels used?"

"I think so. Okay so the long version: Rory and Jess have hugged a few times—"

"They hugged again? Didn't we tell him like a zillion times that she had a boyfriend?"

"Yeah well, apparently it's been Rory initiating the hugs, not—wait a sec, you knew about a first hug, too?! Luke Danes! I thought you told me everything. This is two betrayals in one day."

"Lorelai, get on with it please?"

"Right sorry. So they intensely hugged and I guess Rory lied about staying late for a group, when really she was out with Jess. And they almost kissed, and then Dean came in, and Rory sent Jess away. Fast forward to Rory and Jess fighting several times at group because she wanted to tell him she liked him and he basically told her to get over herself."

Luke blinks and rubs his forehead. He felt a headache coming on. This was a lot.

Luke had had his suspicions, but with no obvious traces of flirting in his midst, Luke had honestly chalked it up to they'd had a fight as friends. Sure, Jess had gotten a little grouchy whenever he'd tried to ask about his feelings for her, but Jess got a little grouchy at everything. Luke couldn't ask him how he liked his bacon without getting a snarky comment.

So there it was.

In what feels like a whirlwind of neuron activity, everything clicks. The smile plastered on Jess's face every Tuesday and Thursday. The horrible mood for days. Shane. The bad mood to rival all bad moods on Tuesday night. The edginess. The lack of Rory.

Jess didn't just like Rory.

He really liked Rory.

"I can't believe it."

Luke was shocked. Jess just didn't seem like the type to freak out over a girl.

"Believe w—"

"I can't believe it," Luke repeats to himself, shaking his head. "This all makes so much sense."

"What makes sense?" Lorelai asks persistently, waving a hand in his face to gain his attention.

"The way Jess has been acting. God it's been like living with Albert Belle! I swore I thought he was gonna throw a plate at my head last night when I told him there was a smudge on a glass," Luke shakes his head and places his hands on his hips. "He's so hot and cold. He goes from being borderline psychotic to a passive aggressive Eeyore without a tent."

"Well, I can't blame him," Lorelai supplies honestly, shrugging her shoulders. "Rory is really giving him mixed signals."

Luke sighs, taking it all in. He really couldn't believe all of this was over a girl.

"I can't believe this is about Rory," Luke sighs, frowning. "I thought maybe he'd finally talked to Liz or somethin'."

"Still no contact?" Lorelai asks, her face softening.

"Nope, guess not. Real piece of work, my sister," Luke grumbles, shaking his head in disappointment. He really did expect better of her. Liz had always been a bit of a loose cannon, but Jess was her son. He was family. You were supposed to do better by family.

"That's really har—"

The storage room door opens. Lorelai jumps about three feet in the air with Luke's heart skips a panicked beat. The moment had been heavy, tranquil almost, before the interruption.

"Jesus, Jess," Luke bellows, huffing. His heart pounds in his ear, and the strange smell of… was that peaches? enters his nostrils.

"Sorry, didn't realize this was your makeout spot," Jess says with a smirk.

"What are you…" Luke trails off, and he realizes that the peach smell is Lorelai. Lorelai, who had jumped three feet straight into his arms. He exchanges a look with the brunette and they hop apart. Luke's throat closes up, his heart lodged in it.

"Don't let me interrupt," Jess says dismissively, moving past the two toward the back door. Luke clears his threat, trying to find his voice.

"Where are you going?" He croaks.

"Uh…." Jess trails off, freezing mid step. Lorelai looks at Luke, and he in turn looks at her before returning to look at his nephew. Something in Lorelai's face told Luke that he was missing something obvious.

"Nothing, needed ketchup," Jess says quickly, snatching a bottle of Heinz off of the shelf. Luke cocks his head.

"Okay…" Luke drags out, scratching his head.

Jess slips past them quietly and closes the door behind him.

"I'm missing something, aren't I?" Luke asks, turning his gaze from the closed door back to Lorelai. She smiles, and Luke's heart flutters a bit. She shakes her head and pats Luke on the shoulder.

"Yeah," Lorelai chuckles, shrugging, her hand still resting on Luke. "I think you should talk to Jess today."

Luke eyes her hand, feeling the warmth of it caressing his skin through his shirt. Lorelai suddenly looks embarrassed and retracts her hand, hugging her chest. Luke nods, trying to forget the feeling of her weight in his arms, her touch on his body.

"Yeah…" Luke agrees hesitantly, looking to where Jess had exited.

Nothing in him wanted to have a conversation with his nephew, at least not until his mood swings evened out.

xx

Luke apprehensively peeks his head in the doorway of the apartment, looking for signs of Jess. It had been several hours since he'd last seen his nephew. He'd begrudgingly mumbled "out" when Luke had asked where he was going post-awkward storage room encounter.

Luke takes a step in and peers around the corner, spotting Jess on the couch, book in hand, scribbling away. Luke sighs and walks over to the couch.

xx

"What?" Jess growls after Luke stands there for a minute watching him. Jess sticks a thumb in his book and closes it to glare at his uncle. He wasn't in the mood for this.

"I want you to tell me what your problem is," Luke says simply, shrugging his shoulders.

"How much time do you have?" Jess scowls, rolling his eyes.

"As much time as you need."

Jess blinks back the shock he's feeling and replaces it was mild skepticism. Searching his uncle's face, Jess softens; Luke wasn't being sarcastic. The look in his eyes was genuine, honest, even borderline sympathetic. Jess grinds his teeth, mulling things over in his head.

On one hand, Jess appreciated—Is that the word? When had he last appreciated somebody?—Luke and his concern, despite being mostly surly and overprotective. Liz rarely showed anything but Vodka-infused affection or mild disdain for him. It was nice to know somebody was in his corner, even if it bugged Jess sometimes.

On the other, Jess would rather lick paint than explain to Luke that he was feeling moody over what happened with Rory. The less he dealt with it, the quicker he could repress it. Repress her and all of the feelings that came with her. At least, he hoped that was the case. It seemed ever since he met the girl, his tried and true tactics of self preservation had failed him.

"You're gonna need dental work if you keep doing that," Luke says matter-of-factly.

Jess stops grinding his teeth and sighs.

"Look, just having a bad day," he half lies, opening his book back up. "Thanks though."

He expects this to work, that this small display of honesty and effort will satisfy Luke enough to propel him back from whence he came. Jess gets three sentences in before he realizes that Luke hasn't budged.

He doesn't know when to quit, huh?

"You have nothing better to do than watch me read?" Jess asks flatly, not looking up from his book.

"Oh, I have plenty of better things to do," Luke informs him, nodding. He takes a seat on the armchair by the couch. "I'm just not taking your lousy answers."

"Buzz off," Jess snaps, throwing his book on the couch. He needed to get out of there.

"Jess, I know this is about Rory," Luke calls as Jess stalks across the room to get his jacket. He tenses for a minute but recovers quickly, hoping it goes unnoticed by his uncle.

It doesn't.

"Yeah, exactly. Rory," Luke drags out her name, emphasizing the syllables. "Remember her? The one who you shot out of the diner like a bat out've hell over?"

"It had nothing to do with her," Jess defends quickly, looking for his keys. Luke follows him as he looks for them.

"You're awfully defensive," Luke says innocently. "And you're full of shit. Lorelai told me what happened."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jess says, mustering up his best look of feigned innocence.

"I think you do," Luke counters, crossing his arms. "I think you're pissed at Rory because you like her and you don't want to let her in because you think she might hurt you."

Lucky guess.

"You're delusional," Jess breathes indignantly, giving up on his keys. He knew how to get in without them, anyway. He sidesteps Luke to get to the door, pulling it wide open.

Before he can slam it behind him, Luke grips the door with one hand and grabs Jess's shirt with the other. He yanks Jess back and closes the door, leaning against it to prevent another escape attempt.

Jess is furious.

"What the hell, man?"

"You," Luke punctuates by jabbing a finger in Jess's chest, "are going to talk to me. I know what happened between you and Rory is crappy, Jess, but is ignoring her and blowing up at me really going to fix things?"

Jess swats Luke's finger away, balling his hands into fists. He furrows his eyebrows.

"I haven't blown up at you," he insists.

"Oh, no?" Luke challenges. "Cause I can list them on both hands, and that's just the past two days."

Jess retreats into himself and stalks back toward the couch. He really didn't want Luke to tally the times. He knew he'd been a ticking time bomb.

"Just drop it Luke."

"I will after you spill your guts about why you're ignoring Rory."

"I'm not ignoring Rory."

"You're selectively giving her attention."

"Me?"

Jess's blood pressure skyrockets, and he rounds on Luke.

"She's the one giving selective attention! She can't make up her goddamn mind about whether she wants to be with me or with that walking skyscraper, and this is my fault? I don't want to get dicked around by some girl and it's all on me? No, screw that, I'm not taking it from her and I'm sure as hell not taking it from you!"

Jess finishes in a huff, his chest rising and falling heavily with every breath. Luke looks mildly startled by the outburst—Add another to the tally of explosions, Jess thinks bitterly—but otherwise remains calm, stoic even. He reaches out a hand and pats Jess's shoulder, causing the younger man to recoil.

"I knew you liked her," Luke reveals smugly. "Feel better?" he continues, a small smirk gracing his features.

Jess's mouth drops. He'd been duped.

"Bet you feel proud of yourself," Jess grumbles, running a finger through his hair. Luke knew exactly what he was doing. Jess had just been too enraged to realize the rug was being slowly tugged from under him.

"Just a little," Luke supplies noncommittally, shrugging. "And Jess…"

"I don't wanna talk about this Luke," Jess sighs, his voice softening. And he really, really didn't. He had been successfully pushing all emotions that weren't anger down, and now that Luke had stirred things up, the other things were surfacing: hurt, betrayal, longing. It didn't matter that Rory hadn't been officially committed to him; she'd made him feel like there was more than just a chance. Leading him on like that…

"I did like her," Jess fibs, shrugging. "But I don't now."

"Jess, you need to talk to her. Hear her out," Luke suggests softly.

"I don't need to do anything. She knew exactly how I felt and chose to drag me around anyway."

"Jess, you're an idiot."

"How do you figure?" Jess practically snarls, feeling anger risking yet again.

"Because Rory likes you."

"She sure has a funny way of showing it."

"Yeah well, maybe if she knows how you feel—"

"I don't feel anything for her," Jess cuts Luke off.

"Yes you do!" Luke explodes, pointing an accusatory finger at his nephew. "You wouldn't be walking around here the way you've been if you didn't still like her."

Jess averts Luke's eyes and crosses his arms, sighing. Luke takes this as Jess's silent acknowledgment that maybe, just a little bit, Luke was right.

"I know you feel used and all that," Luke continues, "and from what it sounds like you deserve to be angry, but Rory needs to know how you feel."

Jess takes a deep breath and blows it out slowly.

"Why?" he hears himself ask.

"Jess, she's been dating this kid for almost three years now," Luke explains, softening his voice. "She isn't going to break it off with him if she doesn't know you're a sure thing. Rory likes rules and order, and you're the complete opposite of both of those things."

"Gee, thanks," Jess mumbles, rolling his eyes.

"Just think about it," Luke says with a shrug. "Maybe if you swallow your ego and tell her you like her, you'd get better results than shoving a scantily clad blonde in front of her."

Jess glares, Luke shrugs, and then he turns to exit the apartment door.

Jess watches Luke leave and runs his hands through his hair, blowing out another deep breath. It was nice to know that the feelings were mutual, even if it didn't come from Rory herself.

"Thought you didn't care, Mariano," Jess mutters condescendingly to himself, walking back over to where he'd dropped his jacket.

He snatches it off of the floor and tugs it on, zipping it up. He needed to think about what Luke had said. He hadn't considered that it might be unreasonable, irresponsible almost, for Rory to jump into things with him. Jess was never one for long term commitments, and because of such, he hadn't really ever asked how long Dean had been in the picture. He almost couldn't be mad at her for being confused and hesitant.

Jess sighs, grabbing his discarded book, looking at the sentence he'd left off on.

"They walked along, two continents of experience and feeling unable to communicate."

Jess digs in his pocket for a pen, scribbles something next to the sentence, and heads out of the apartment. Thinking of the bridge, Jess nods to himself, and takes off down the stairs to his destination.

xx

Rory flops back onto her stomach, the fourth shift she'd made in her bed in an hour. Nothing she did made her more comfortable; she'd tried sitting upright, lying on her belly, dangling her feet over the side of the bed. She was simply too tense to read comfortably.

She groans and puts down her book, resting her left cheek on the comforter. Rory stares out of her bedroom window at the sunset, sighing softly to herself. Her life might feel like it's in shambles, but at least the sky was still pretty. Something in her life was consistent.

Rory hadn't been able to get Jess out of her mind all day. All week, actually. Her determination Tuesday night to move on, get over him, and focus her efforts on Dean had faded by Wednesday morning, and effectively been shattered today at the sight of him. The thought of Jess wanting nothing to do with her (but everything to do with Shane) was soul crushing. And the voicemail from her teacher, letting her know that she would have a new group assignment, had really just delivered the final blow to stomp out her spirits.

She'd barely bothered to talk to Dean, lying that she wasn't feeling well the past few days. He'd come over at one point to bring her soup, and she had done a frantic dance to make herself look sick and unattractive. And in many ways, Rory wasn't feeling well. But she couldn't bring herself to tell Dean that she was feeling heartbroken over another guy.

She sighs again, rolling over onto her back, folding her hands on her stomach. She knew this was her fault; Lorelai and Jess had been right.

Rory picks up her cell phone and dials the Kim house.

"Hello, Kim Antique's?"

"Hi, Mrs. Kim. It's Rory."

"I hear you're sick. Are you drinking ginger tea?"

"N-no, I'm not."

"Drink ginger tea. Good for illness."

"Okay, I will. Um, can I talk to Lane?"

"Lane is preparing for bible study."

"Please, Mrs. Kim? Just for two minutes? It's important."

"Okay fine. Two minutes."

Rory hears scuffling on the other end as she's passed from Mrs. Kim's hands to her best friend's.

"Wow, how did you manage to get Mrs. Kim to let you talk to me?" comes an impressed Lane on the other end. Rory smiles, her first in what felt like days.

"I agreed to take her advice on drinking ginger tea? Maybe that did it."

"Gross. She makes me drink pots and pots of it whenever I even get a sniffle. It's horrible."

"Oh no, really?" Rory asks, concerned. "She won't expect me to tell her how I like it?"

"Oh she definitely will."

"Great, one more thing to lie about," Rory mutters to herself.

"How are you feeling? Still sick?" Lane is met with a loud groan from Rory, so she continues.

"Okay, spill. Why are you calling? Not that I don't want to talk to you, I love talking to you, you're my best friend, but you never call during Bible study set up, and you're grunting like a cavewoman."

"I… Lane, I don't know what to do with myself."

"Okay…"

"I've been moping around my house for days. Lying to you, Dean, the town - I'm not sick! Not really. Just… depressed, I think."

"What's going on?" Lane asks, clear concern in her voice.

"You're going to think it's stupid."

"Try me."

"Jess has a girlfriend."

"Oh."

"Or a playboy bunny, I really can't tell. But I tried to talk to him about how I felt, and he basically told me he hates me."

"Ouch. You're a regular Brad Paisley song, huh?"

"Gee, thanks," Rory mumbles.

"Sorry."

"And I've been reading poetry."

"Which you love," Lane supplies.

"Which I loved," Rory emphasizes the past tense. "Everything I read depresses me!"

"Look, Mama Kim is staring at me from the doorway, so I think I have to go... but my suggest is that you get out of the house. Go out the back door so the townspeople can't bombard you with wellness routines, and just clear your head. I'll meet you at… well, not at Luke's, but by Luke's tomorrow, and we can talk about how we're going to murder Jess and his life sized Barbie doll, okay?"

Rory smiles again and nods her head. Realizing Lane can't see her, she chimes in.

"Yeah, sounds good. I think I will. Thanks Lane. Go… I don't know, feel the Holy Spirit."

Lane laughs before hanging up the phone. Rory tosses her cell phone by her pillow and looks over at the poetry book again. She flips to where she'd left off, and looks at the poem one more time.

"The hours aren't latching on
or hooking up. At all.
There's isn't any nap
to catch.
They're sliding around
in disguise
like gods. It's two
in the afternoon. It's four.
You can't take these hours
apart and repair them.
Nothing's wrong
with them.
They aren't broken."

Rory bites her bottom lip and closes the book with finality. She wasn't going to lose the rest of her night over this. She wasn't going to waste more hours on this, on him. She was going to listen to Lane, go for a walk, and clear her head; enjoy the sunset in person, rather than through the rays passing through her window.

And she wasn't going to think about Jess. Or Dean, or anyone else. No, Rory was going to go to the bridge, her bridge (before Jess had claimed it for himself,) and just enjoy the quiet.

Yep. Just me, myself, and I.

xx

Please review :) I worked really hard on this chapter and I think it turned out well.

A note that the next chapter won't be out in the next two weeks at least because I have to finish editing my friend's novel, and your girl here needs to HAUL ASS on that. Google Docs deleted twenty? chapters worth, so I'm drastically behind.

BUT - this story wasn't prioritized for an updated chapter this month, so reviews would motivate me to bump it up ;)