A/N: Hope everybody is able to keep up with this fic and thanks to the couple of people who reviewed - I know the site has been very up and down lately, through no fault of the owners, apparently. Anywho, if FF is ever down and you think you might have missed an update or whatever, this story is also available on AO3 - my screen-name there is Ultra :) Now, without further ado, the next chapter...

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 11

Jess wasn't entirely looking where he was going, his eyes on the contents of the bag of groceries he just picked up from Dooseys. It was how he very nearly ploughed into somebody coming the other way down the street. She really sounded pissed about it too.

"Hey, people are walking here!"

"Easy, Rico," Jess told her, free hand raised in mock-surrender. "Geez, what's up, Lane?"

If looks could kill, he had a feeling he would be a smoky hole in the pavement, given her expression. Not that Jess really believed his bumping into her a little had Lane so mad. He would lay good money her real issue was either her absent boyfriend or her mother. Since he could sympathise with both missing someone you loved and a whack-job mom, he chose the higher path of not retaliating when she continued to be unfriendly.

"What's up is there are too many pushy city people in our little town who think they can just go where they want and do what they want, and not even care what they did the last time they were in that little town!"

"Huh," he said, giving his brain a moment to unravel all of that. "So, you should know that me and Rory figured things out. Not in a way where we're back together or anything - believe me, I'm not stupid enough to think I deserve a second chance," he told her fast, "but we're friends. Really, we are. Ask her, if you don't believe me."

The way Lane was staring at him after that little speech, it was as if she was trying to read his mind or search his soul or something, determined to figure out if he was telling the truth or not. Jess had no fears of her catching him in a lie, since he hadn't told any. Not that he would usually care what Lane Kim thought of him anyway, but as Rory's best friend, he honestly would prefer that she didn't hate him. Just in case.

"She did mention something about you two burying the hatchet," she said eventually, nodding her head. "I guess if you explained and apologised, which she said you did, then you should be forgiven."

Jess tried not to smile too much, but it was tough. It made him happy to think he actually had somebody else not hating him in this town, but also, the fact that Lane might just have said something her mother would actually approve of did amuse him. She was usually such a rebel, in so many ways.

"So, uh, I heard about Dave going to California. Gotta suck."

"Really sucks." Lane sighed heavily. "I could maybe get over him ruining our relationship, but ruining the band too? How could he?"

If there was a good answer to that, Jess certainly had no idea what it was.

"I should get back," he said, gesturing in the direction of the diner. "Luke sent me out for supplies, all in aid of Kirk's big date tonight."

"Kirk's big date?" Lane's eyes widened with the surprise a person might expect to see when they were told such a thing. "I didn't... How did...? What?"

"Yeah, that's the reaction most people are having." Jess rolled his eyes. "I didn't ask too many questions. All I know is there's this girl who dated his brother and now she's agreed to go out with him. The guy is a freakish mass of excitement and fear, and he's driving Luke crazy with the elaborate plans. Still, I gotta admit, even I feel a little sorry for the guy. If he finally found somebody who's the right kind of weird, then good for him," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

"I guess it's sweet, in a strange way," Lane considered, a smile creeping onto her lips for all of two seconds before it slipped away again. "Ugh, before you know it, even Kirk will have a more successful romantic life than me."

Jess sighed. "If it makes you feel any better, at least you didn't screw up with the one person in the world that you..." He stopped, catching himself at the last before he said too much and clearing his throat before starting over. "At least your broken relationship isn't your own fault."

"That's true." Lane nodded, staring at him too closely. "Jess..."

"I gotta go," he told her, moving by her towards the diner without another word and refusing to look back.

Rory picked up her cell the moment it buzzed, wincing just a little when she saw it was another text from her mom. She said she and Sookie were being driven a little crazy by Emily, as they did their best to set up the catering and party plans for the launch of Richard and Jason's new business. Then underneath that, a string of 'I'm sorry's, which was how she had been signing all of her messages for days now.

Quickly typing back, Rory wished her luck with Grandma and told her again that she could stop apologising any time now. It probably wouldn't change anything, but she said it anyway. Honestly, Rory would rather just forget Saturday night, when she had gone home and caused some serious coitus interruptus for her mom and Luke.

It was just so weird and embarrassing to contemplate and she dreaded going to the diner and facing Luke at all. It had been bad enough having to face her mom so soon after it happened. Texting was okay, for the most part, but not when there was just so much studying to be done!

The bigger issue wasn't even being distracted by thoughts Rory would rather not have about Luke and Lorelai. It was finding a decent place to sit and study. Even the many libraries didn't seem to suit her, being too crowded, too distracting (because of all the pretty books) or in one strange case, just too quiet. The dorm was not an option, because either Paris was yelling at Janet, or Janet was exercising all over the place, which often caused Paris to yell some more, and then there was Tanna with the TV on ridiculously loud.

Stars Hollow would potentially be a better bet, but she had tried to put it off, given her need to avoid her mom and Luke for a while. At one point, there was a tree she thought she might spend some time leaning on and it was pretty comfortable, but she couldn't exactly lay claim to it and stop anybody else from taking her spot there. That one happy time aside, Rory had never got lucky with her 'study tree' again, but she really did have so much to do.

"Going to have to be the house," she decided at last, struggling to the car with all her books and papers, and heading back to the Hollow.

It wasn't ideal, but she figured if her mom and Sookie were over in Hartford, there would be peace and quiet and space too. No embarrassment, no distractions, but the option of background music, plus easy access to food and drink and a bathroom she knew was clean and always available. It should have been fine. Except for the trays and trays of broccoli tarts over every surface of her bedroom.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Rory exclaimed.

Honestly, she could have screamed, not that it would have done her any good. Nothing seemed to help at all, nowhere seemed to be a good place to study, and she was getting more and more frustrated by the second! Going back to the kitchen, she figured at least a cup of coffee might help her mood. The sad-face Post-it attached to the coffeemaker actually made her eyes fill with tears.

"No coffee?" she squeaked, feeling pathetically sad.

After all, where else could she go now? She supposed there was Weston's, but their coffee had never been the best and seemed even less good since Fran passed away. Of course, there was the diner, but Rory squirmed just thinking about it.

Much as she loved Luke, she knew that coming face-to-face with him, knowing what she knew, it was going to be horribly embarrassing for everyone. Then there was Jess. That was another embarrassing situation she hardly dare think about. She had made such a fool of herself the other night and been so completely unfair to him, after her disastrous date with Trevor. She gave Jess false hope, or maybe something worse. Maybe she gave him justifiable hope that she wanted him to have, but certainly, Rory wasn't ready to admit to that yet.

"Stupid, stupid!" she muttered to herself, picking herself up and heading for the back door to leave.

Her hand stilled on the handle and she thought a moment. If she went back to Yale, she was going to be no further forward than she was now. No studying completed, no caffeine in her system. All she would have done was waste the time and gas and energy of driving from one place to another and back, all for nothing.

The diner had coffee, also food, and there was a vague chance she may even be able to get some work done, if she could find a quiet corner. Luke wouldn't mind, and of course, she could face him. She was going to have to eventually anyway, and there was no time like the present. As for Jess, that situation would probably be okay too. Today wasn't the time to contemplate it anyway. Her college work needed to come first.

"One thing at a time." Rory nodded her head positively, then headed outside.

Driving down into town square, she parked up outside of the diner, got out of the car, looked in through the window... and lost her nerve. She couldn't actually see Luke, but doubtless he was there. The guy who had been no less than a father figure to her for the last eight years. The guy who made her coffee and special pancakes and anything she ever wanted, who bought her monogrammed unicorn everything while she was growing up, and blew up balloons and baked coffee cake for her sixteenth birthday. Unfortunately, he was also the guy her mom had sex with last week, and despite being nineteen and fully aware of the ways of the world (even if she hadn't experienced all of them herself yet) Rory couldn't come to terms with those two things colliding just yet. She wished that she could, but she couldn't.

Considering for a few moments, Rory turned around and headed for a bench across the street. Sitting down, she decided she may as well try and do what studying she could right there. After all, she had sat on that self-same bench to read before, she could absolutely do it again. Okay, so it was a college textbook that she needed to attack with a highlighter, rather than a favourite novel she was enjoying, but that couldn't matter much.

It took all of ten minutes for Rory to realise, it did matter. She needed to make notes that wouldn't fit in the margins, which necessitated a piece of paper. Paper that would blow in the breeze and almost get away from her. She needed multiple pens, all of which seemed to want to drop from her lap and roll away. She needed a desk or a table, and she really, really needed a cup of coffee!

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed loudly, as one more important page flew from her hand. "Does the whole world just hate me?"

"I can't speak for the whole world, but I don't."

She knew it was him before she ever looked up. Of course, she knew his voice, almost as well as she knew her own at this point, but it was more than that. Even without the words, the shadow was even familiar, and the smirk surprisingly welcome when she finally raised her eyes to his face.

"Hey, Jess."

"Hey, Rory," he replied in kind, handing her the piece of paper he had caught against his chest as he walked up. "As far as places to study go, seems like a weird choice."

"And yet, it's the best I could find, in the circumstances," she admitted, giving in and stuffing her books and papers back into her bag.

Jess seemed to take her moving things off of the bench beside her as an invitation to sit.

"So, I don't know if you know this, but there are chairs and tables inside the diner over there," he pointed, continuing on, completely deadpan. "Also, coffee, which I happen to know is study fuel for most people and basically life-giving precious nectar for a Gilmore girl. Makes me wonder why you chose this spot for studying when something so much better was on offer just a stone's throw away."

Rory looked sideways at him, hoping her eyes conveyed words she would rather not have to say to him. As usual, Jess got it immediately.

"Luke's out," he confirmed easily. "Something about a supplier and a favour for Lorelai. I'm pretty sure it has to do with your grandmother, also."

"Ah, yes. The launch party for Grandpa's new business. I'm guessing Mom and Sookie are having problems sourcing something specific that she wants."

"Probably." Jess nodded his agreement. "So, if it's Luke you're trying to avoid, he's not going to be around for a while, and you know, even when he is, I'm not sure you can avoid him forever."

"I'm not avoiding him," Rory denied it hotly, then a beat later off of Jess' unconvinced look. "Or I am avoiding him, but I don't want to, not really. It's just... weird."

"I get that," he agreed easily, "but like I said, right now, he's not around, and you have that look that tells me if you don't get coffee in the next ten minutes, there's going to be some kind of explosion, which I personally would rather avoid."

Rory smiled at the way he phrased it, she couldn't not. "You're really perceptive."

"One of my best features." Jess smirked, getting to his feet and reaching out to take Rory's bag for her. "C'mon."

She could have protested, she knew she could. In fact, Rory thought, she probably should have, but all too quickly, she reconsidered. Why shouldn't she let Jess make her day a little easier? He was her friend, after all. Why shouldn't she go into the diner, to drink some much-needed coffee and hopefully get some studying done? If Luke came back, she could deal. She could be an adult, she was sure she could. A young woman attending Yale ought to be able to do that.

"You okay?" Jess checked, just as they reached the diner door.

"Yeah," she said honestly, finding him a smile. "Thanks."

To Be Continued...