Running on nothing more than left over energy from exams and a cup of dodgy coffee ensures that this chapter sucks. But I made this lame and corny situation as comedic as possible.

Chapter 3

"Pick a movie already!" Rory heard her mother shout from the hallway, paying for the everything-on-it pizza. "Thanks, Joe," she said, then entered the living room where Rory was sitting on the couch staring down at the stack of DVD's on the coffee table, next to the bag of marshmallows and red vines.

"Well, it's hard. We could do a Die Hard marathon again."

"No," she protested. "We did that recently."

"We haven't done it since 2002."

"Still – I feel like I've done it recently."

"Hm." Rory looked over the stack again. "How about we watch The Exorcist?" Rory suggested, looking up hopefully at her mother.

"...On a dare?"

"Never mind." She looked back down. Lorelai dropped the pizza carelessly on the table, letting some m&m's go astray.

Lorelai picked up the first DVD in sight and gasped excitedly. "The Pursuit of Happiness,"

"And Misery!" Rory grinned with a pointed finger.

Lorelai smiled down proudly at her creation, said "The perfect movie combination." and sat down next to her. Rory stared at her. "...So I guess I'll put it in."

"Yale educated," she said, gesturing. Rory sighed, but being the good little girl that she was, went to put it in. She sat back down.

"I'll tell ya," Lorelai started as the warning sign showed up. "We are this close to being Nick and Nora."

"More like Sid and Nancy," Rory muttered. Her mother scoffed, but the introduction of the movie cut her off before she could say some sort of snide and quippy retort. The idea of the two of them in fancy dresses sipping martini's also involved unicorns and aliens flying in the background. Seems legit.

They were two bags of marshmallows, one bag of red vines, a whole pizza and fifteen minutes through the first movie when there was a knock on the door.

"Rory..."

"Hm?"

"You're closer."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, but I ate more."

"So?"

"So I'm more exhausted. And I am thoroughly enjoying this movie more than you are, so if one of us were to lose the flow of the movie then it should be the one whose enjoying it least to lose said flow – plus I'm older and more mature and—"

"Fine, I'll get the door. Geez..."

The not-so welcome, ex-Boo Radley of Stars Hallow stood in front of her, staring at her with one of his rare warm smiles.

"Hello, Rory."

Rory froze. For a second. Then her previously recognised anger kicked in. "Mom, I'll be right back," she called over her shoulder, knowing that Lorelai would b extremely curious but resistant. Rory shoved Jess forward and closed the door behind her. He wasn't wearing his leather jacket this time. Rory guessed he made a mental note. Instead he wore a feeble jean jacket like it was still 1985.

Rory gripped his collar and dragged him hostilely down the stairs of the porch and dragged him to the side of the house, opposite Babette's place. Rory let go, faced him and crossed her arms stubbornly. "What are you doing here?" she sneered.

"I wanted to see you."

"Thank you for stating the obvious, again, Sherlock."

"Again?" He asked, looking confused, but still smiling – as though the result of showing up would be good.

Rory glared at him expectantly. "Whenever we were in the same place, you would get up and say 'I'm leaving', before leaving." She looked him up and down with a scowling pout. "Completely stating the obvious..."

Jess smiled at her.

"What are you doing here?"

"I already told you."

"Care to elaborate on that?"

"I came here to explain." A beat. "To explain myself."

Rory stared down at the ground, hugging herself tighter from the cold winter chill, becoming very aware of the fact that she was only in her feeble yale sweats.

"Uh... I – The reason I planned on dropping the bomb and running—"

"You mean driving."

"Right." He stammered. "I did that because I was afraid of what you were gonna say." He smirked. "I didn't think it would earn me a snowball to the head." By the frustrated expression on Rory's face, Jess's smirk faltered and he had to ignore the major feeling of vulnerability.

"Nice anecdote. Does Dorothy Parker know about you?" She sniped.

"I was gonna leave town and plan to never come back, but then you got mad. And I remembered why I love you."

Rory could feel herself start to blush, making her annoyed with herself. And then even more annoyed with Jess when she realised it was because of him.

"And I think you love me too. I'm gonna stay this time, unless you go. Because Kirk isn't worth it." He pointed a finger. "And I don't know if you've realised, but this is the only time I've ever talked this much without yelling or arguing or anything." A beat. "And this is also the first time you've gone this long without talking – or at least not injuring me."

Then, Rory noticed something. A hose. It was just there; attached to the side of the house innocently. And conveniently.

"Rory?"

Without much thought, she picked it up.

"Rory..."

She pointed it at him.

Jess slowly pointed a finger in her direction. "Don't do it, Rory..."

She turned it on.

It sprayed at him; the ice cold water hitting him forcefully, drenching him coldly from head to toe. Jess turned away, his hands attempting to cover his face – a pathetic and pointless attempt. "RORY!"

She grinned evilly.

"Rory, c'mon!" She heard him sputter. He tried moving, but she followed him with the hose. He turned his body fully and glared at her. "This is ridiculous," he muttered, then walked towards her, embracing the water. Jess came close enough to try and pull the hose out of her hands, now realising that she learned how to gain strength along with learning how to 'run like that'.

"No!" Rory protested, battling for the hose.

"Let go of the hose, Rory," he said firmly, the spray of water rebounding off him onto her.

"No!"

"I'm serious; let go of the hose!"

"Well if you're serious, then I'll do it!" She snapped sarcastically.

Jess looked at her, completely bewildered. "Rory," he said clearly.

"I am not letting go. No. I am NEVER letting go of this hose until you're drowning in this stupid water... OR of frostbite. Because that would be painful!"

"Well, you always told me my death would be bloody and painful, so I guess that's appropriate," he retorted, like his usual self. Jess finally yanked the hose out of her dainty little hands. He threw it over her shoulder and turned it off at the source.

Rory glared at him while he looked at her innocently and hopefully. Bordering on sincere. He breathed heavily.

Rory sighed. "Okay. I'm done." She ran her fingers through her vaguely damp hair.

Jess mimicked her sigh. "Is that good or bad?"

She stared down at her slippers. "I need time to think."

"To think."

"Yes," she muttered. "I need to think."

"You need to think."

"Yes," she said, having lost all energy to say any sort of parrot on a pirate quip.

"Ok." Jess said. "You're going to make a pro/con list," he stated, looking straight ahead at the the garage behind her.

"I will."

"Ok." He wanted to kiss her goodbye, but all the bad scenarios ran through his mind, making him consider otherwise. He turned around, soaking wet and cold, and walked away.

"You know, that would have been a really bad parting line," she called after him.

He swiveled around. "What?"

"I ran hundreds of good parting words between us. Them being about my pro/con list was not one of them."

Jess frowned at the memory of the words she said before he said he loved her. "Oh."

Rory looked away. "...I don't know why I brought that up."

"I can think of a few reasons," he said, resisting the urge to wring out his clothes.

Her head snapped it. "It wasn't so I could keep talking to you... If that's what you were thinking."

"I wasn't." He was.

"Good. Because it wasn't."

"So you've said."

"So I have."

"Good."
"Good."

There was a pause in which Jess took to officially leave the Gilmore property. He wanted to seem all cool and collected as he left, but the sound of his shoes squashing in the snowy mud dampened the effect.