The Gilmore Girls were sitting around the dining table. "This is amazing chicken, Mom. I mean it, really great." Lorelai ate another piece.
"Thank you, Lorelai." Emily took the compliment.
"It's like super chicken. I bet it could fly. Have you tried tossing it out the window?" She cut the rest of the chicken up.
"Alright, what's going on?" She put her silverware down.
"What? I like chicken." She didn't see why her good mood was making her mom suspicious.
"Nobody likes chicken that much, Lorelai." She narrows her eyes.
"I like it that much," Anna spoke up from the first time since the chicken arrived. Emily hushed her.
"I'm in a good mood." She shrugs.
"Why?" She needs a better answer than that.
"My God, it's my ninth-grade homecoming dance all over again." Lorelai sighes.
"Homecoming dance?" Rory asked.
"In ninth grade, I got asked to the homecoming dance and I didn't think I would, and I was in a good mood, and Mom got so annoyed that she made me go to my room." She told them.
"Grandma?" The teens look at her.
"She was sitting at the table giving all the peas voices." She defends herself.
"With a little encouragement, I could've been the Senor Wences of the vegetable set." Lorelai looks at her vegetables, thinking of voices for them.
"Lorelai." She warns.
"Okay, okay, okay. It'll come out soon enough. Today, ladies and gentlemen, I found a dance partner." She smiled proudly.
"You did?" Rory asks.
"A good one." She nods.
"Who?" Anna asks.
"What are you talking about, a dance partner? A dance partner for what?" Emily hated when they left her out of things.
"Our town is having a dance marathon this weekend," Lorelai explains.
"It's always a different time-periods. This year it's the 1950s." Anna had her dress picked out, she just had to convince Jess to take her.
"It lasts twenty-four hours and the last couple left standing gets a trophy," Rory told her the reason that her mother was excited about it.
"A big trophy." She put her hands out to show how big it was.
"Well, that sounds very nice." Emily nods.
"All the proceeds go to charity," Rory explains why the whole town got involved.
"Which is great… but did I mention the trophy?" Lorelai was picturing it on her mantel.
"I believe you did." She nods.
"'Cause, it's big." She put her hands out even farther.
"Charitable events are wonderful things to take part in. There's nothing more rewarding than devoting yourself to making someone else's life better." Emily loved a creative charity event.
"And whose life isn't better with a truly gigantic trophy around?" Getting that trophy was on her bucket list.
"So who'd you get to dance with?" Anna repeated her question.
"Stanley Appleman." She told them.
"Who's Stanley Appleman?" Rory never heard that name before.
"Oh, he's brand new in town. He works over at the hardware store, and the best part is, he used to be part of the touring company. . .of Riverdance." She brags.
"Score!" The teens cheered.
"I know! I'm completely jazzed. How 'bout you, Mr. Potato?" She stuck a fork into a small potato and gave him a voice. "I'm completely jazzed, too."
A phone rings. "What's that?" Emily looked at her three guests.
"I think that's me." She looks into the living room where her purse was.
"Lorelai, I've told you a hundred times to turn that thing off when you come to dinner here." She scolded her.
"I know, Mom. I'm sorry." She stood up.
"Can't you let it go to voicemail?" She looks up at her.
"Well, see, I left Michel alone at the inn, and he's dealing with the roofers. I told him to call me if there was any trouble." She walks into the living room.
"Is that true?" She looks at her grandchildren.
"Rory answer your grandmother." Anna looks at the wall to avoid Emily's analyzing eyes.
"I'm gonna let Mr. Potato field this one." She looks down at her plate.
"I thought so." She sighes.
"Hello?. . What?. . Oh, no no, no no, don't tell me that. . .Well, did you tell her how big the trophy is because I am not exaggerating here. . . How did your wife get a picture of me? Stanley, that is crazy! I don't wanna sleep with you." They looked back at Lorelai who was yelling into her phone. "Did you tell her I don't wanna sleep with you?. . Well, put her on the phone. I'll tell her I don't wanna sleep with you. . . Well, somebody has to tell her I don't wanna sleep with you. . . Why are you insulted all of a sudden?. . Stanley?. ." She hangs up and walks back to the dining room.
"What happened?" Emily asks.
"Stanley bailed." She huffs.
"No! Why?" Rory gasps.
"Miss Patty showed his wife a picture of me, and she thinks I look like Elizabeth Taylor, which makes her Debbie Reynolds, and Stanley Eddie Fisher." She couldn't believe her luck. How was she supposed to find another partner?
"I would be honored if I were you." Anna could die happy if someone compared her to Elizabeth Taylor.
Rory looks at her sister, wondering how she didn't see the point. "That's crazy." She turns back to her mother.
"Especially if you've seen Stanley. He's no Eddie Fisher, trust me. Fisher Stevens, maybe." She shrugs.
"Can't you talk to her?" Rory didn't want to hear her mom whine for another year about Kirk stealing the trophy from her.
"Only at my own risk." She debate in her head if it was worth taking a hit to keep her perfect dance partner.
"Well, at least she thought you looked like Elizabeth Taylor. That was nice." Emily liked Anna thought it was a great compliment.
"I have no partner." She sighes, looking down at her plate.
"You'll find another one." Rory hoped she did.
"Elizabeth Taylor always did." Emily nods.
"There's someone else out there who loves to dance and is willing to let you have the trophy." Anna didn't know who but there had to be someone.
"I guess." She sighes.
"Here. Have some more chicken." Emily passes her the plate.
"Thanks, Mom." She took a few pieces.
"And if you'd like, later on, you can make my asparagus talk." She offers.
"Thanks, but maybe next week." She appreciated her mother trying to cheer her up.
Anna walks over to Rory who was standing by the school gate. "Who the cutie talking to Paris?" She looks at Paris and an attractive teen.
"That's Jamie." She told her.
"That's Jamie. You didn't say that Paris's fling was hot. You said he was cute. I was picturing chubby cheeks and flippy hair." She moves around to look at him from different angles. "I thought he didn't call and he was now in the revenge book."
"I don't like how you guys are bonding over that book." Rory hated when they cackled over it.
"Is he here to get back with her?" Anna asked.
"I don't know, I'm watching the same time you are." She failed to try and read their lips.
"This is silly, let's get closer." Anna pulled her closer so they could hear.
"Are you busy right now?" Jamie asked.
"Well…" Paris thought of all the homework she need to get done.
"No, she not. She loved to go anywhere with you." Anna interrupted.
"Yeah, we're done. She's free." Rory nods.
"Good. Let's go get some coffee." Jamie takes Paris' books from her. "Bye Rory. Bye Paris's friend." He waves to them as he walked away.
"Bye Jamie." The teens waved.
"He took my books." Paris never had a boy be so bold with her.
"Well, go get 'em back." Rory nods to Jamie. Paris smiled at them before following him.
Jess was in his zen place. Metallic was blaring. He was in the recliner in the middle of an interesting book. Anna know this was her moment. She sat on the arm of the chair. "So, I'm sure you've seen the flyers around town." She lays an arm on the back of the chair.
"I'm not going to that dance marathon." He didn't look up from his book.
"Please." She whines.
"Anna, I go to all these events with you. And yes, I do end up having fun. But, I'm not going to be sleep-deprived around a bunch of nosy people I can't stand. So far my record has been three hours tops around these people." He needs his break in the diner more than anyone.
"We don't have to be there the whole time, definitely not at six in the morning. I want to dress up in my 1950s clothes and dance to a few songs. Maybe stick around to people-watch. The best drama comes out when people are sleep deprived." She knew it was best to let Jess think the worst, that way what she actually wanted didn't seem so bad.
"Define a few songs." He put the book down.
"Five." She aims high.
"Three dances and we go at noon. I'm not dressing up and I get to bring a book." He put the book back up.
"Thank you. I promised when you won't regret it." She gave him a side hug.
"Doubt that." He mutters.
Anna and Rory were in science classes. "Do you think she got lucky?" Anna was asking about their missing friend.
"I don't know, maybe. I hope she comes. I have to ask her about Saturday." Rory had to ask if Paris could move the Franklin workshop day so she could dance with her mom at the marathon.
"It's bad that you're hoping she says no." Anna watches Rory watch the door.
"It's not that I'm hoping she'll say no. I just don't know why you can't do it. You're a better dancer than me." She wanted to spend the night with Dean.
"Because she found you first and you said yes." She stuck her tongue out.
"Oh, she here." They watch Paris come in to talk to the teacher. She waited until Paris sat down before she made her move.
"So," Anna asked when Rory came back.
"She said yes. I'll be dancing with mom all day." She whines.
Anna was taking out her curls. She part her hair with a sweep and bobby pinned it into place. She pins some of her curls back to give her a half up half down look. She grab a can of hairspray and coated her head in it. She colored her cheeks and eyelids a light pink and lips red. She curled her eyelashes before covering them in mascara. She slips on a green ruffle lace-up fishtail dress that she found in a thrift shop. It is also where she got the matching t-strap bow high-heeled shoes and a pearl and rhinestone choker. She added on a pair of pearl spider earrings. When she heard the car horn, she swung a vintage black purse over her shoulder.
She walk outside and got into the car. She was surprised by what he was wearing. He wasn't in a dapper suit, or a sport coat, or even in a leather jacket with his hair slicked back. But, he also wasn't in a band shirt and ripped jeans like she thought he was going to be. He had on a black dress shirt with a black undershirt on and a pair of jeans. "You look nice." She beams.
"You clean up alright." He couldn't keep a straight face after seeing her pout. "You look quite vibrant." He put on an old English accent.
"Thank you." She felt giddy as she squirms in her seat. He pulled out of the driveway to go to the High School Gym where the marathon was being held.
"I wonder how mom and Rory are holding up?" She grew excited as they got closer.
"If bitterness can fuel energy then they'll be wide away for the whole 24 hours." He shrugs.
"Jess," She sighs.
"Hey, I act civil to them. But, it's hard when everything I do is a crime. I got a car, not a machine gun." He grips the steering wheel tightly.
"I'm grateful that you're handling it well. I'm not even sure I could do the same. Rory will get over her pettiness soon." She squeezed his bicep.
"Not until she gets a car." He parked in the school parking lot.
Anna didn't know what to say, so she got out of the car. After paying for their tickets, they enter the gym. They walk through the dance floor. "Unauthorized persons on the dance floor. Unauthorized persons on the dance floor. Security! Security! Security!" Taylor uses this megaphone to scream at them.
Jess pushes through dancing couples to sit down on the bleachers. "You seriously took me to a place where Taylor has a megaphone."
"I know a good way to drown him out." She pulled him into a kiss.
"This is your last dance, enjoy it." Jess was swaying her side to side for the third time.
"What? You're telling me you don't like being pushed up against each other. Our bodies move with the other." She teases.
"Not when we're clothed." He snorts. "Can we leave after this?"
"You can if you want to, but I have to stay if mom or Rory want to take a break to keep the one that is on the dance floor up." She had agreed to do that.
"I'll stay." He glares at his classmate from over her shoulder.
"Is this because Kyle asked me to dance?" She failed to hide her amused expression.
"Hey, if you want to dance with him, you can. I can always find Shane." He sneers.
"Don't be mean to me, because you're jealous." Her smile fell.
"I'm not jealous. It's disrespectful that he's going to ask you to dance when I'm sitting right next to you." He took the opportunity to squeeze her ass when Kyle was looking.
She rolled her eye at his possessive behavior. "If I can put up with Shane, shameless throwing herself at you. You can handle a guy politely asking me to dance. He was stuttering mess."
"Would you have if I wasn't here?" He asked.
"No." She scoffs.
"What if I wasn't your boyfriend?" He tilts his head.
"What are you doing right now?" She leans back to narrow her eyes at him. "Why are you trying to start a fight?"
"I'm not. I just wondering if you would be interested in him." He shrugs, trying to play it off like an innocent question.
She took a deep breath before answering. "If you weren't my boyfriend, I would probably give him a pity dance or two because of how nervous he was. But, it wouldn't go beyond that."
He let out a chuckle. "Pity dance… I feel bad for him." He pulled her close to continue slow dancing.
"What about you?" She countered.
"What?" He put his chin on top of her head.
"If I wasn't your girlfriend, would you be with Shane?" She asks.
"I probably have a fling with her." Anna gasped as she stared up at him in shock. "Oh come on, I was kidding. If I wasn't with you I would be in New York taking odd jobs to pay my part of the rent for a shitty apartment I share with my friends."
She hummed as she put her head on his shoulder. The song came to an end. She jumped when a horn went off. "What the hell?" She watch as the couples went to stand at a starting line.
"Alright, time to get back to the side." He pulled her to the bleachers.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, on your marks. . .get set. . .and go!" Taylor announced as Miss Patty shot a starting pistol into the air. "Round and round they go, but when the song stops, nobody knows! But the last five couples that finish behind the red line are automatically out, so hold onto your partner and move, move, move!"
"I can't believe my mom has repeatedly signed up for something that you have to run in." Anna gasps.
"I thought you went to all these things." Jess never saw her shock at any of the town's weird traditions.
"I've never stayed for the whole thing. We dressed up and come in the morning. Then we go home with Babette, come back to visit my mom during the day, and go back to Babette's." She explained.
"I would kill to be at Babette's right now." He sighs.
"Me too, Morey would make us blueberry waffles." Her stomach grumbled.
"I'm going to catch up on my reading." He pulled out The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann.
"Ten-minute break everyone, ten-minute break. Well, run. Ten-minute break, everyone. Ten-minute break." Taylor announced making everyone collapse on the gym floor.
"I'm going to get us food." She got up.
"Good, I'm starving." He followed her to the dance studio where food and refreshments were.
"Hey Lane." She smiled at her friend.
"Hi, Anna, Jess." She said her friend's name with excitement while spitting out her boyfriend's.
"So, not dancing?" Jess asked.
"Nope." She shook her head.
"Why not? Too cool?" He asked.
"Go away, Jess. No one asked for a Tony Manero wannabe to drop by." She glares.
"Lane," Anna said sternly. "I understand you're still in the process of forgiving Jess for things that he did, but you can be civil at least for me."
"Fine. Here, enjoy, bye." She hands him a sandwich.
Mrs. Kim came by and saw Lane staring at Jess. "Who are you?"
"Jess…" He felt the pressure of her stare. ". . . ma'am."
She looked at Lane. "Scoop more." She walked away.
Anna and Lane giggled. "I've never heard you say ma'am before." Anna held her sides.
"I don't know what else to say, just wanted her to stop looking at me." He pouted making them giggle some more.
Rory and Dean walk over to them. Seeing Lane hand Jess another sandwich with a smile on her face made Rory upset. "The sandwiches are for the dancers."
"Don't worry, Rory there's a lot. I don't think many people are running to get eggless egg sandwiches." Anna sighed at her loved one's behavior.
"I'm surprised he's still here. That he didn't leave you as soon as his three-song obligation was up. What, you have nothing better to do than to sit around inside a gymnasium all day staring at a dance marathon?" She glares at Jess.
"I don't know." He turns to Dean. "Do you have nothing better to do than sit inside a gymnasium all day staring at a dance marathon?"
"I wouldn't direct any sort of comments toward me if I were you." Dean looks down on him.
"Look, I'm here to spend time with Anna. She wants to be at this thing for some reason so I'm here." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"What a great boyfriend you are?" Rory's words drip with sarcasm.
"I'm doing the same thing your boyfriend is doing, so I don't know why you have such an issue with me." He was getting tired of the attitude.
"Don't mention me in any of your comments either." Dean sneers.
"Rory, I don't know what you're problem is with Jess. Don't say it the car because he offers you a ride to school every morning and you turn it down. And other than school and Friday night dinner, you don't leave Star Hollow so how much are you really missing having a car? Until you can talk like an adult about it, just don't talk to him at all." She grabbed his hand to pull him out.
"I could have handled that, you didn't need to cause a riff with your sister." Jess could handle them hating him. He didn't want them hating her.
"If your family was talking crazy to me I would want you to stand up for me. So, we differ in opinions on this." She stopped in front of the vending machine that was outside the gym.
"I would stand up for you." He took his wallet out of his pocket. "I'm going to need a soda to wash down this sandwich."
"Let's go get something else." She dropped the sandwich in the trash after taking a bite.
"You sure?" He asked.
"Yeah, I'll come back at hour 23 to see if they win it all. Dean's here he can be their dance replacer." She didn't want to be there. He nods and puts his wallet back.
It was hour 23. Jess had come back with Anna. "A guy passed out." She hisses in sympathetic pain for the way he hit the floor.
Jess looked up from his book. "She dragging him off." He was surprised by the dance partner's strength.
"Well, she doesn't want him to get trampled." She saw it happen one year, it wasn't pretty. "Oh, Mom's heel just broke." She gasps at her mom almost falling.
"Are you seriously watching this like a sport?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, she called Dean from off the bench." She made a sports commentator's voice. "Kirk is downing an energy drink, will be more effective than Lorelai's coffee? What do you think, Jess?"
He let out a big sigh before joining. "I'll say, Anna, time will only tell. But, my money is on Kirk."
"Really." She gasps at him rooting for the opposing team.
"The man has four jobs. He works from early morning to late at night." He reminds her.
"That's a good point. Let's see if the underdog can take it home." She pretends to hold a microphone.
"The question is will Lorelai dance barefoot if the shoe can't be fixed." Jess held up his book like it was a mic.
"Dean looks to be holding up a half-awake Rory. Will he be able to handle the crankiness that is Rory when she is tired?" Anna swings her legs.
"Anna, I'm down with this bit. Let's make out." He drops his invisible mic.
"Okay." She turns to connect her mouth with his.
"There they go again! God, I swear, why can't they just get a room? Or forget a room, get a park bench, or a doorway, or even a strategically placed telephone pole would probably suffice. I mean, don't Anna realize how that makes her look. No wonder Kyle ask her to dance. He thinks she is an easy lay." Rory's tiredness didn't make her realize how loud she was talking.
"Hey, you can talk about me all you want but leave Anna, your sister, out of it." Jess stood up to yell.
"She's my sister. I'm concerned about the way you're making her look like a cheap woman." She sneers.
"I'll say it again, not push your issues with me onto her." He was tired of her childish behavior. Anna looks up at Jess, feeling ever conflicted. On one hand, it was hot how he was standing up for her but on the other, this was her sister he was yelling at. No matter how out of line she was being, she would always be her sister.
"I'm a little sick of seeing the two of you sitting there. If you're not gonna participate, then why don't you just leave?" Rory yelled.
"Despite what you think, you're not the princess of this town. You don't have authority here. I'm gonna sit here as long as I like, and I'm gonna do whatever I like, and if you don't like it, then just ignore me and pay attention to your boyfriend." He pointed at Dean.
"Sorry, she can't. I'm not her boyfriend anymore." He pulled away from her.
"What?" Rory and Anna shouted.
"You know, I tried to ignore this. I did, but I don't know what the hell I was thinking." He was holding back a bitter laugh at his stupidity.
"What are you talking about?" Rory was in deep denial.
"You don't wanna be with me, Rory." He points his fingers to his chest.
"Yes, I do." She nods.
"Oh, please! You've been into him since he got to town, and I have spent weeks, months actually, trying to convince myself that it wasn't true, that everything was fine between us. But now I know that I was an idiot. You're into him and he's into you, and Anna, who by the way, should be listening to this 'cause it's so damn obvious." He tired of being made a fool of by her.
"What's obvious? What did I do?" She was feel humiliated to be yelled at in public.
"Everyone can see, Rory! Everyone. And I'm tired, but I'm over it, so go ahead, go. Be together. Nothing is standing in your way now, 'cause I'm out." Dean grabs his jacket from the bleachers and leaves.
"I don't see a yellow card. I don't see a yellow card. Excuse me, young lady. . .whose name I don't remember right now. . . ugh, no one listens to me." He gave up when Rory ran out.
"I know, honey." Patty yawns.
"I don't know what he talking about." Jess turns to Anna. She had already expressed insecurity about him and Rory looking good on paper. He wasn't going to let Dean ruin his relationship just because his went up in flames.
"I do." Anna stood up.
"No, you got to believe me. I never thought of your sister like that. Yes, before she got bitchy, I enjoy talking about books and music with her but I never wanted to be intimate with her." He feels his knees getting weak and his hands shaking.
"I know, I do." She kisses him softly. "I got to talk to Rory. I promise we're alright."
"Okay," He lay his forehead against her. He gave her another kiss before letting her go.
She found Rory sitting on the bridge, ironically it was her and Jess's spot. "Are you alright?" She sat down next to her.
"He's right. I didn't mean for it to happen. Either way, I know I was wrong to string Dean along. I hate myself." She sobs.
"Rory." She whispers.
"I didn't even realize how much I don't like my relationship with Dean until I started paying attention to you and Jess. Jess supports you. He's staying in a town he hates to be with you. He plans to follow you to Pennsylvania. Dean gets jealous of the time I spend on my college applications. He wants me to take an interest in all his things like Star Wars but he barely makes an effort to read the books I want him to. While Jess can discuss literature. He respects your space and needs. I want that. I want someone who can fill me up with a passion that I want him to sneak through my window at night." She let out the dark secret she was holding. Anna was surprised that she heard Jess but didn't rat on her. "You must hate me."
"I don't hate you, Rory. You are struggling with these feelings. You don't want to act on them and that's why you've been lashing out at Jess. But, honestly, to me, it sounds like you envy the relationship more than you want Jess." She rubs her back.
"You think so?" She wipes her tears.
"Yes, you were miserable in that relationship. You wanted to make it work because of how much Dean loved you but you weren't being fair to yourself. I think anyone in your situation would develop a crush on a guy that treats his girlfriend the way they want to be treated." She held her sister while she cried.
