A/N: Hey, Literati peops. Remember me? I did say I'd be back in September with a new story, and so, here I am. It's planned to only be a short story, rather than an epic (think 10-12 chapters, rather than 30 or so) but I still hope that you'll like it. If you do, please drop me a review and let me know. I've been out of circulation for a few weeks, so my confidence could use a boost! :)

Disclaimer: All recognisable characters and dialogue from Gilmore Girls belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino and other folks who aren't me.

Chapter 1

When he suggested they turn right and just keeping driving around in circles, Jess didn't entirely expect Rory to go for it. He knew there was a chance, he wouldn't have said it if he didn't, but still, he was braced accordingly for her to say no, to insist they get straight back to studying.

"Turn right," she said, barely looking at him, a hint of a smile playing at her lips.

It took everything Jess had not to grin like a fool when he heard those two small words.

"As you wish."

It wasn't a date. They didn't talk about anything huge or earth-shattering. He never even thought about pulling over anywhere, trying to make a serious move or whatever. It was just cool to keep on driving, keep on talking, to be in each other's company all unofficial and by choice. Not just because Luke had hired her to tutor him or because she had come into the diner to order food from him.

Jess wasn't huge on friends, and if truth be told, he would like to think that, someday, he and Rory would be a whole lot more than just that, but for now, he was okay with what they had. She did like him, in some undefined way that she seemed determined was in the friend zone, but Jess still held out hope. Yes, she had a boyfriend, but it wasn't as if they were well-suited, not in Jess' opinion, anyway. That just wasn't a conversation for tonight.

"I guess we should get back to studying soon." Rory sighed after a while, sounding as if she were sorry it were true, at least, Jess would like to think so. "Maybe make this the last circuit?"

"Sure," he agreed, nodding his head, unwilling to push his luck too far.

It was starting to get late, or at least what passed as late for Stars Hollow. Probably best he didn't delay too much in getting Rory back to the diner and ultimately back home. Luke wasn't in the best of moods with him already and Lorelai sure didn't care for him at all. Jess wished none of that mattered, and but he knew it did.

Parking the car up across from the diner where it had been before, Jess got out of the driver's side and Rory emerged from the passenger door. They met at the front of the car and headed back to the diner side-by-side, so close together that it would have been totally possible for Jess to get a hold of Rory's hand without hardly even trying. Of course, he really wasn't the hand-holding type, and even if he were, Rory wasn't his to hold onto, at least, not yet anyway.

"Wow, we were gone longer than I thought," she said, checking her watch. "Um, is there anything else you really need me to go over with you? I mean, we covered history, math, English..."

"I'm probably good to go," he admitted, letting them both back into the diner.

"Of course you are" she agreed, smiling as he ushered her in first like a gentleman might. "It's like I told you before, you're not stupid, Jess. You can do all of this, I know you can. If you just tried..."

"You really love those pom-poms tonight, huh?" he said, with a smirk he couldn't help.

She tried for a stern look in response, but it didn't really come off. "Jess..."

"Rory," he countered in a similar tone. "Seriously, it's like I told you before, high school just isn't the big deal for me that it is for you, but," he added fast, seeing that she was only going to fight him on the point all over again, "if it would make you feel better, I'll try harder, okay? Would it make you feel better?" he asked, trying to meet her eyes when she seemed quick to evade his gaze.

"Yes, actually, it would," she said, nodding once, "but don't just do it for me, Jess, or for Luke, or for anybody else. Yes, I would like to see you achieve everything you're capable of, and I know Luke would too, and it would absolutely teach this whole town about judging people on first impressions, but you should really do this for yourself," she insisted. "Be all you can be for the sake of Jess Mariano. Be glad that you can and proud that you will."

When she talked like that, it took so much self-control not to grab her and kiss her already, but Jess held it together, just. She was amazing when she was passionate about something, whether angry or sad or indignant or enthused. He had watched her lose it over a book she loved, over a cause she supported, over a freaking bracelet from her boyfriend that she hated to think she lost. Every time she was incredible to him, and never more attractive than in moments like this. He would have promised her the moon and the stars if she asked. A little effort in school didn't seem like so much.

"Okay," he said at last. "I'll do better, for me," he added, rolling his eyes. "Happy now?"

"Ecstatic," Rory told him, grinning widely.

That made it all worth it.

There was a strange floating quality to Rory when she left the car and walked up onto the porch of her house. The grin on her face was starting to make her cheeks ache as she replayed the events of the evening in her mind. She was brought sharply back to reality as she reached to open the door and heard her mother singing along to the stereo inside.

Rory loved her mom, she really couldn't love her any more if she tried. Lorelai was the best, such an amazing role model, and she and Rory had just everything in common, except for a couple of things, like thinking Jess was a good person, for example. If she went inside talking about the great evening she had with her friend, her mom would scoff, make comments, be generally off about the whole thing.

"Won't that be fun?" Rory muttered to herself, opening up the door and stepping inside, just as her mom walked like an Egyptian into the living room.

"Hey, sweets! You are going to be so proud of me. I finally reorganised the take-out menu drawer," she explained, waving some of those menus plus what appeared to be sheets of smiley face stickers in Rory's general direction. "I threw out all the ones we never use and I stuck smilies next to dishes that have been successes. Should shave minutes off our ordering time."

"Good job." Rory smiled, following her mom back towards the kitchen, where the take-out menu drawer lay out on the table still. "I had a pretty successful night too. We really covered a lot and I think that will encourage Jess to make more of an effort, so it's a win-win."

She waited for the scowl, the sarcastic remark, all the usual Lorelai-patented responses to any mention of Jess. Her mom did not let her down. Rory never really expected her to.

"Gold stars at the ready for that kid's forehead, huh?" she said, rolling her eyes.

Rory huffed out a sigh and sat down heavily in the nearest chair. "Do you have to do that every time? I mean, seriously, I know Jess was a little troublesome when he first moved here. He had some attitude with you and he pulled some pranks, I get that it wasn't the best start for a new person in town, but he is not the devil incarnate. Come on, Mom, he's Luke's nephew. Why won't you give him a chance?"

"Why should I?" Lorelai shrugged. "I really don't see why I have to like him just because you do."

"Because... you said you'd try," Rory reminded her. "After the whole Bid-A-Basket debacle, we had an agreement. You were going to cut him some slack, and for a while, it actually seemed like you meant it. Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, it's Jess Mariano, Public Enemy No.1 all over again." Rory shook her head. "What happened?"

"What happened?" Lorelai echoed, looking ready to reel off a whole litany of charges, and yet, no more words left her mouth at all.

"Are you planning on miming your answer, Marcel Marceau?" asked Rory, confused by the silence, especially from her mother of all people.

"No, I just... He is just... I get a bad vibe from him, okay?"

"A bad vibe? Really? How very That '70s Show of you."

"Hey, you asked, I told you, babe. The dude has bad vibes."

Rory rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'll bet that's it. Well, it's late and all that extra study has kind of fried my brain. I'm going to listen to some music and go to bed."

"Okay, sweets. You get some well-earned rest," Lorelai agreed, opening her arms for a hug.

Rory didn't hesitate in going into her mother's embrace and squeezing her tight. It sucked that her mom didn't see that Jess could be a good person, but there was no way she would ever let something like that come between them. It was comforting to know Lorelai felt the same.

"You know, just because I come off a little judgey where Jess is concerned," she said as they parted, "it's no reflection on you, okay? I have a lot of respect for your opinion, it's just with some people..."

"I get it, I do," Rory assured her with a smile. "Just, if you could maybe try to ignore whatever weird, bad vibe you get around Jess, if you just tried to see the good in him, I think you could do it. You guys actually have a lot in common." The look that brought to Lorelai's face was worth its weight in gold and Rory had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at it. "I mean it! He loves The Clash and The Ramones, he has seen almost as many movies as we have, plus even though you don't love his whole rebellious 'question authority' bit, please remember what you were like as a teenager and then tell me you don't understand where he's coming from."

Lorelai opened her mouth to somehow rebut Rory's points, but once again, no words came out. It was certainly no mean feat to render a Gilmore girl speechless twice in one conversation and Rory was a little proud of herself, even if that was wrong.

"Goodnight, Mom," she said, kissing her cheek before heading to her room.

"'Night, Rory," her mom called behind her, followed by muttered words that Rory wasn't entirely sure she was supposed to hear. "Was I ever that bad?"

To Be Continued...