A/N: I'm really having fun writing in some of my favorite Jess scenes from the show in this kinder version I'm writing, I hope you enjoy too!

"Rory?"

"Hey, mom." She said nonchalantly as she tried to walk right passed her mom and into her room.

"Rory…"

"What?"

"Don't what me, come on kid, I've been waiting for you to talk to me about what's going on with you but I can't wait anymore. I'm officially out of patience, and you know me, I could and should be crowned as the one person in all the world with the most patience." At her daughter's dubious look, she continued a little sheepishly, "Okay, so 'the most' might be an exaggeration but I'm trying here hun. I know you have to work things out on your own and I respect that, heck, I admire that about you, your ability to be self-sufficient but I see you wrapping yourself up in knots, I see you confused and it's hurting you, I just want to help, let me help." She was almost pleading.

The pleading in her mom's voice did her in. Yes, she'd been wanting to talk to her mom about what she was going through, what she was feeling but she was also a little iffy talking to her about Dean because it seemed like she always took Dean's side and that didn't really feel good. But with the look of understanding on her mom's face and the pleading in her voice, she decided to let it out. "I don't know if I should have even gotten back with Dean."

Her mom's face turned dubious and it made Rory almost immediately regret saying anything. "Is that because of Jess? You seemed happy enough with Dean before he came into the picture."

"Mom, stop. You said you'd try to understand."

"You're right, I'm sorry, that came out a little snippy, didn't it? I did not mean for it to sound snippy."

"It's okay." She replied even though it really wasn't.

"Okay, so why do you think you shouldn't have gotten back with Dean?" She asked softly.

"Well because I didn't know if I really did love him, I feel like I just said it because I didn't want to fight, heck, I still don't know if I love him. If I did I wouldn't…" She trailed off because she accidentally said too much.

"You wouldn't have what?" Lorelai did everything she could to make sure her face and voice were soft and nonjudgmental.

"I wouldn't be attracted to someone else." She whispers her confession.

"Oh hon, that's not true, just because you're in a relationship doesn't mean you don't have eyes anymore. Having a crush is okay, it happens to all of us, as long as that's all it is and you don't act on it, it's okay." Lorelai realized she said something wrong when her daughter's face dropped even more than it already was. "Oh kid, did you act on it? We'll work on it if you did, just because you made a mistake doesn't mean you have to lose a realationship with a great guy."

Rory stood up getting angry, she just wanted to talk to her mom about how she was feeling, to talk to her best friend to have help talking it out and figuring out what to do but this is why she put it off so long. No matter what, her mom always sided with Dean, in her eyes he was the best thing to ever happen to Rory and Rory was lucky to have a guy like him and she should do everything in her power to hang on to him. "Mom stop!"

"Kid, what's wrong, talk to me."

"I'm trying to but you keep trying to force things into my mouth and tell me what to do before I've even explained the problem."

"I'm not doing that!" Lorelai replied defensively, standing up too.

"Yes you are, I'm trying to talk to you to help me work out my feelings but you've already decided I'm wrong and that I do want to be with Dean even though I'm positive I don't!"

They both quiet down at her admission. Eventually, when Lorelai thought she had a hold of herself, she said, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I don't get the butterflies when I kiss him anymore, we have nothing in common, and I don't miss him when we're not together…"

"Hon that's normal, it's what happens when you're in a relationship with someone for a while, it can't be new and exciting forever. I'd say the best part of a relationship is after the honeymoon phase is over, when you know each other and what you like about each other…"

"Stop interrupting me! Jeez, I've been wanting to talk to my best friend about this for weeks but I've been putting it off because I knew this is exactly how my mom would act." It wasn't very often that Rory differentiated her mom and her best friend but right now seemed like it was the right thing to do.

"Rory… what?"

"It's just, I sometimes feel like my best friend gets it but my mom has this picture in her mind of what my life should be and it will always be Dean by my side. He's not perfect but whenever I talk to you about the problems I have with him, it feels like there's no point because I already know what you're going to say and it's going to be something along the lines of 'It's okay Rory, just try to see it from his point of view, you know he's right and you're wrong."

There was a second where Lorelai looked at Rory angrily but just a moment later she cleared her face and looked at her confused, if not a little hurt. When she spoke it was softly and she tried her hardest to speak softly and not judgementally at all, the softened, less aggressive look did its job, and she realized when Rory seemed to have calmed down too, "Rory, I never wanted to make you feel that way, I'm on your side, always, no matter what kid. Yes, I like Dean but the nice feelings I feel for him are nothing compared to how I feel about you. I mean it, it's not even a blip on my radar. And I'm sorry if I made you feel differently, even for a second because that wasn't my intention at all. Please, tell me what's making you feel this way, I'll listen and I won't judge."

Rory stared at her for a long time trying to decide if she believed her mother, she really wanted to, she wanted to believe nothing more in the world. She needed someone to talk to, someone to trust, someone to understand her and tell her she wasn't a horrible person because that was exactly what she felt like right now, Dean was never mean to her, even if he got mad sometimes, and he was loyal and tried really hard to make her happy. She shouldn't want to break up with a guy like that but something inside her was telling her it was the right thing to do and that wasn't even taking into account everything that happened with Jess tonight and the feelings she was starting to realize she had for him.

"Rory?…" Her mom asked bringing her back to the present.

"Sorry, it's just, Dean and I, I don't think we're going to work. Like I was saying, I'm not even sure that I should have ever gotten back together with him. I don't think I ever loved him, the only reason I even said it to him was because I didn't want to fight with him anymore, and everyone, especially you, kept telling me that he was a good guy, the kind of guy I should stay with, the kind of guy I should love. You told me you didn't want me to be afraid to tell him I loved him and I mean I was afraid but a big part of that was because I wasn't sure if I actually did and now it's like I'm here with him and it feels like this is going to be my life forever and I like him and care for him, I really do and it's like I have love for him but I don't know if I'm in love with him, you know? So I don't know what to d o because I know if Dean is the rest of my life it wouldn't be a bad one but would I really be happy? Like I know that my happiness can't be based on a guy and I have no intentions of letting myself be that type of person but still, the person you spend the rest of your life with should be the type of person you know you love and you have a lot in common with. Like I convinced myself I'd be okay if I save all my important conversations, the ones that use my intellectuality and the ones that get me excited for you and Lane, Paris, and even Jess and just talk to Dean about things that interest him but saying it out loud makes me realize that that's crazy and isn't the type of relationship I should want. And that brings up another issue, Jess does, I mean. I've never felt so connected to someone else before, it's like he gets me, and we actually have things in common, I spent tonight just talking to him and it was the best time I had in forever, and then when I got tired he just read to me and I fell asleep listening to him, I've never, I don't know how to explain it, I've never, it's just, I don't know, I've never felt like that before, so safe, comfortable, content. Which is crazy because I barely know him and on top of that, if I was going to trust the thousands of hours of TV we watched together that is definitely not the type of boy I should trust and get close to but I can't help it…"

Lorelai knew she had to stop this, it was turning into one of the most rambling speeches her daughter ever had. Normally she'd be proud but it was clear Rory was distressed. "Rory, hon, please, breathe. It's okay kid, whatever you're feeling is completely okay and totally valid. Even if you decide you want to end it with Dean, that's okay. Like I said, kid, I'm with you one hundred percent, no matter what. And you don't have to feel bad about feeling a connection with Jess, I knew that already, it's been as clear as day for a while now, you feel how you feel and there's nothing wrong with it unless you were to act on it while you were still in a relationship with someone else because that's not okay. If you want to be with him, then go be with him, if you want to stay with Dean, that's okay too. Heck, if you want to break up with Dean and take some time for yourself, even better, your happiness can't depend on a man, Rory. Either way, no matter what, I'll support you, always."

"Really?" Her voice was so small it reminded Lorelai of when she was a little kid and woke her up in the middle of the night because she had a nightmare.

"Really. Only, can I just make one suggestion? Okay, actually, two suggestions."

"Okay…"

"It's just if you decide that he's who you want to be with, be careful. He's a good kid and I like him, really I do but he's not like anyone you've been around before, he's had a hard life and he doesn't seem like he's used to trusting anyone, I'd just be careful. And two, maybe don't just break up with Dean because you're worried, maybe take the time to think it out, and decide what you're feelings are about Dean without Jess in the equation because it seemed to me like you really cared about him before he showed up." She liked Jess, she really did, and she wouldn't be upset if he and Rory ended up dating, not too upset anyway. They were young, so it wasn't like they were going to get married, she knew Rory and Dean weren't going to get married either, but she felt safe when Rory was with him, that Rory wouldn't be pushed to grow up too fast, that she wouldn't come home and tell her she was 16 and pregnant. Jess, she was sure it wouldn't be the same, she was worried about that.

"Okay, you're right, I'll take some time to think about it. It's just…"

"What sweetie?"

"You won't be mad or disappointed if I were to break up with him?"

"Oh Rory, no, it's not like I thought you were going to marry him one day or anything silly like that, you're teenagers. He's just your first love, or your first boyfriend I suppose, if you're not sure you love him."

"R-really?"

"Yeah kid, I don't care how many times I have to tell you, I'm with you no matter what, you should know that already." She felt like a terrible mom for having the need to explain that at all to Rory, she didn't realize she was doing so much damage to her daughter by playing devil's advocate, she never wanted Rory to think that she was anything but completely in her corner no matter what.

"Thanks, mom. I think I'm going to go to bed, I have a lot to think about, I think."

"Sounds like a good idea, babe. Goodnight."

"Night, Mom. I love you."

"Love you too Rory, always."

~~~~~~

Rory felt bad for leaving her mom with her grandpa alone all day but she had no choice, when Paris got something in her head there was no getting her to let it go. Sometimes she thought her mom was overreacting when it came to them, they were always so nice to her and it was clear how much they loved both of them. But sometimes her grandma and even her grandpa from time to time would say something, make a snarky but sly comment to her mom and she'd think she understood, kinda at least.

Anyway, she had no choice but to leave her alone with her grandpa, there was no way she was going to let Paris look around the town without her, she didn't want to think of the chaos Paris could create left to her own devices in Stars Hollow. So she let Paris come home with her back to her town and prepared herself for the long day of looking around the town and finding absolutely nothing to write about.

"I'm going to have to burn my clothes."

"You know Paris, you have a car, you could have driven, you didn't need to take the bus with me."

"You have to get the feel of the small-town world, you're not going to get the feel of a small-town world in a BMW. Is there something crawling in my hair?"

"So we're here now, where do you want to go?" Rory asked ignoring Paris' crazy.

"I don't know, where's the bad part of town?"

"Over there."

"What?"

"You know, the people, they're very upset with the color of the fence."

"Come on."

"I don't know Paris, I told you nothing is going on here. This is it, this is the town. It's not seedy, it's not rundown, it's just Stars Hollow."

"Well, where's the local bar?"

"In Woodbridge."

"Why aren't you helping?"

"I'm trying, you're just looking for something that's not here."

"What's this?"

"Luke's Diner."

"Diner! Okay, good, good." Paris exclaimed before walking in.

Rory took a deep breath and followed her in. She'd been avoiding Luke's ever since the night of the pep rally, falling asleep while being read to, and the talk with her mom. She needed time to think through everything and decide how she felt and what she wanted to do. Plus she couldn't help but feel a little awkward around Jess now, it wasn't like they'd done anything bad or that she should feel bad about but she did anyway She didn't know how to act around him anymore, and she still had a boyfriend that as of now she had no intentions of breaking up with. Plus, she wasn't even sure about how he felt about her. She was being crazy, she'd only known him for two months, and it was all going too fast for her, it was too much.

She brought herself out of her thoughts when they sat down at the counter. Paris grabbed a menu and looked like a stereotypical person who was trying to look inconspicuous. It was actually kind of funny when Rory thought about it, she couldn't wait to talk to her mom about this.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying just to blend in, fade away, observe."

"Hey Rory, coffee?"

"Thanks, Luke."

"Who's your friend?"

"Angela Lansbury."

"Ahh."

"You're the owner here?" Paris interrupted.

"Yep, you want some coffee, Angela?" Rory wasn't sure if Luke was playing along with the joke or really thought that was what Paris' name was, which was another level of funny to her.

"No thanks."

"Okay."

"So, you run the diner, huh?"

"Oh boy." Rory couldn't help but chime in.

"You get a lot of truckers through here?"

"Truckers?"

"Yeah, you know, guys on the road for weeks at a time, lonely, looking for company, things like that."

Rory was having a hard time keeping her face straight, she had a feeling she was failing miserably. Luke looked at her incredulously, "What is she talking about?"

Rory shook her head and held her hands up in surrender. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"It's pretty common knowledge that diners are breeding grounds for prostitution and drug dealers," Paris interjected, getting the conversation back on track.

Luke was befuddled and the tone and facial features he used to reply showed that, "What?"

"Have you ever seen anything like that going down here?"

"Have I ever…?"

"What about that guy over there, what's his story?"

"Reverend Nichols?"

"Reverend Nickols, huh? What is that, like Dr. Feelgood?"

"Rory, how much do you like this person?"

"Do what you gotta do Luke."

Jess had been listening at the bottom of the stairs for a while, he knew right away it was Rory's friend Paris that was in the diner. Her voice and demanding know-it-all-all tone were not an easy one to forget. She was good for a laugh though and that's why he stood out of sight and listened for a while, he had to admit, it paid off but he decided it was time to make himself known so he walked out into the diner and over to the bar.

"Hey, where'd he come from? What's up there? Is that where you keep the girls? You got yourself a little cat house up there?"

Jess wanted to reply with something like 'Jesus, Paris, you're insane' but decided to egg the conversation on at the last minute. "Wow, I think she got you, Uncle Luke. I think you better give up."

"Do not add to this insanity." Luke pointed at Jess.

"An innocent boy like me should not be raised in an atmosphere like this." He emphasized his point by tapping the end of his pencil on the bar at the end of his words.

"Jess…"

"I wanna be good, life is just isn't letting me" He raised his hands in defense.

Rory was trying not to giggle while also working hard not to make eye contact with Jess, she felt silly and like a little girl. She was braver than this. With another deep breath, she looked at Jess and her breath caught to see he was already staring right back at her.

"Rory, get her out of here."

"On it."

"No, wait, Jess, a James Dean type like you is exactly what I'm looking for."

"Oh yeah?" He asked interested.

"Yeah, if there's an underbelly to find of this town, you're the guy to get me there."

"I might know a few places." He said leadingly, even though there was nowhere like that here. Now, if she wanted to see the bad places of New York, he'd be able to show her all around. Fuck, he'd lived in half of them.

"Great, let's go. See Rory, was that so hard?" She said starting to walk away expecting everyone to follow."

"He's messing with you."

Paris looked at Rory then back at Jess and read the truth on his face. "Damn it!"

"I've been telling you, you're not going to find anything like that here, it's a nice, normal, quirky, quiet town."

Paris stomped over to Jess and pulled him away, she was positive that he did in fact know someplace to go but he wasn't going to say it in front of his authority figure. Normally she wouldn't be so forward with a guy but she was in journalist mode. "Alright, tell me. You won't get in trouble now, I promise we can keep it between us."

"Jeez, Paris, I got nothing for you, this is the most boring town I've ever had to spend my time in, believe me, I wish I was wrong. The most you got here is kids partying on the weekend with copious amounts of underage drinking, though I'm sure it's nothing compared to what you rich kids get up to."

Paris scoffed, "Don't lump me in with those nimrods. But I see your point. Okay, I guess this was a failed mission."

"There's got to be better stories to follow than this. Your best bet is to get out of Stars Hollow and look elsewhere, you're waisting your time here."

"I don't know, might be better to scrap the whole idea, there's no way we're going to win. No, you know what, I'm no quitter, come on, you're coming with us."

"I'm working."

"Diner man," Paris said in a voice loud enough for the others to hear, "Jess here is taking his break, he'll be back."

Rory was staring at them, they were still in the diner area but they were off in the corner talking in quiet voices. She knew Paris was in work mode so it wasn't like they were off flirting with each other but she couldn't help the jealous feelings she had. At least she could admit that's what they were now but she still wasn't a fan of having them for someone who wasn't her boyfriend.

"Sure, that's fine." In a voice low enough that only Rory could hear because she was so close to him he continued, "Whatever gets you out of here faster." Rory smiled at him because she knew exactly where he was coming from.

"Hey, who says I want to come?"

"Come on, you can't tell me you'd rather be spending your time serving these people than coming and helping me and Rory."

Well, she wasn't wrong, he admitted only to himself. He'd been wanting to talk to Rory and he had the feeling that she was avoiding him but he didn't know why. Though he was never one to make things too easy so in a gruff voice he acted annoyed when he said, "Alright, whatever, let's make this quick though."

"Whatever, Keroak, let's go."

He scoffed but followed all the same and felt like a loser when he opened the door for the girls without thinking about it. They were walking around with Paris in the lead, it was clear she was on a mission. Jess kept looking over to Rory but couldn't decide what to say to her, although it was probably for the best since he wasn't sure he wanted to talk around Paris at all. They showed Paris around town and she found nothing of interest, she was slowly getting more and more down and Jess was actually starting to feel bad for her.

"Maybe we can find something more interesting to write about? Or go to another town and find their nitty-gritty underside." He offered.

"Stop trying to placate me!" She snapped.

"Woah, chill, damn. I wasn't placating you, I was offering solutions to your problem so we can stop this completely useless hunt around town that we've been on for," He paused to look at his wrist where a watch would normally be but he didn't have one. "Way too fucking long already."

He didn't even go to their school, he had no reason to even be there with them and if she was going to snap at him he had no problem leaving, he'd find another time to talk to Rory. Paris sighed and looked at him with a bit of apology in her eyes, though he was sure she'd never actually say she was sorry. "No, I know, uh thanks. I'm just working myself up, getting into Harvard and the hell away from my family is literally the only important thing for me right now."

He softened a little bit, if he knew about anything, it was knowing what it's like to have shitty absent parents, though he was sure their upbringings were completely different. "Yeah, okay, I get it, whatever. Let's just head back to Luke's to get some dinner and brainstorm." He knew he was truly gone for Rory if he was not only offering to brainstorm for school but for a school he didn't even go to.

"Yeah, I'm with Jess. We should eat and take a step back, I've learned things seem much more clear when you take a step back and think about things with a full stomach." Rory agreed and couldn't help but take a surreptitious look at Jess, wondering if he knew she was thinking the same exact thing about him. The look he was giving her kind of made her think he did.

"Okay, yeah, that doesn't sound like a bad idea. What does a diner serve? I don't think I've ever eaten in one before and I have a very strict diet."

"I'm sure you'll find something," Rory said and smiled at Jess when he rolled his eyes.

They were almost back to the diner when they passed the movie rental store and Taylor and Kirk happened to be leaving it. "There she is, the girl of the moment!"

"Me?" Rory had no idea what he was talking about.

"You, young lady are my hero!"

"Why is that, Taylor?"

"Cause in this day and age, when the kids are willy nilly with their clothes and hair and morals, it is heartwarming to see a sensible girl like you still exist. A girl who has the gumption and guts to stand up and say 'Why are we allowing this trash out where all our children can see it?'"

"And a few selected adults also." Kirk chimed in and Taylor pointed to Kirk agreeing with him.

Jess was trying not to laugh and felt a moment of dread when he realized he was excited to see what this town was being crazy about this time, he worried that what Paris said to him the last time they'd seen each other might be coming true. He decided that he'd have to cause some mischief or do something else of the sort to make him feel like himself again.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well come and see for yourself!" Taylor said excitedly while putting his hand on Rory's lower back to lead her into the store. Paris and Jess looked at each other before following behind, neither knew what was happening but they both knew they had to see whatever this was.

Jess had been in here a few times before so he knew something strange was going on when all the shelves were empty. "What is this?"

"What happened, what's going on?" Rory asked.

"Well thanks to your brilliant suggestion, they are all safely stashed behind… the Rory curtain!" He held his arm out as if he was presenting something and all the teenagers looked and saw a big red curtain blocking off half of the store.

"The what?" Rory just sounded tired.

"We thought it was only fitting to name it after you," Kirk explained.

"No! I don't want a Rory curtain!" She explained and Jess couldn't stop the chuckle at her indignancy, she gave him a dirty look before turning back to Taylor and Kirk. She was getting worked up when she continued, "I never asked for a Rory curtain!"

"You told me to put that movie where the kids couldn't see it."

"You did?" Paris asked and Rory could tell she was back in reporter mode.

"Yeah, but I just mean on like a higher shelf, not to get fabric involved!"

Taylor walked up to her excitedly while Paris walked over to look past the curtain "Oh, this is much better than a higher shelf. Now all the movies that we deem objectable will be safely hidden from the eyes of children. Plus it will make the adults think twice before they go back there." He said pointing to the curtain and Kirk nodded in agreement. Paris was looking between the two men.

"No, I didn't mean to do this…what are you doing?" She asked Paris and she sounded annoyed, without thinking Jess stepped forward and put his hand on her back hoping to calm her. In the moment she didn't object.

"This is it!"

"This is what?"

"Our story, censorship in a small town, it's perfect!"

"Paris, stop it, you know I don't believe in censorship."

"Even better, small-town minds run amok. This is genius, it's gold, we're going to win!" She went back over to Taylor and started her interview, "Now Taylor…"

"Yes?"

"On the record, how long have you been working here?"

Rory turned to walk away and Jess followed. "What?" She snapped when she noticed she wasn't alone.

"You seemed upset."

"I am! What business of that is yours?

"Nevermind, whatever," Jess said and started to walk away, he wasn't sure what he was doing anyway, he wasn't the type of guy to check on an upset girl or try to comfort her, he just followed his instincts but if that was how she was going to act, whatever, he didn't care and shouldn't have bothered.

"Jess, wait, I'm sorry, that was mean." He thought about ignoring her to keep walking away but stopped, as if he had any other choice. He turned around and looked at her, waiting for her to continue. "I'm just upset and took it out on you."

"It's fine, they'll get bored soon and move on to the next thing. You don't have to get upset about it." Jess had a look like he had something planned in his eyes but she didn't question it right now. After a few seconds of silence, he ventured, "So I've noticed you haven't been around Luke's much lately."

She got a little embarrassed when she felt her cheeks heat up and laughed a little awkwardly like it was no big deal, "Oh you know, I've just been busy."

"Hm." He hummed in acknowledgment. "Well, your absence has been noticed." He said and felt like an idiot after the words left his mouth, he might as well have just proclaimed his undying everlasting love for her.

"Yeah? Is Luke happy he doesn't go through nearly as much coffee as normal? I always said that he should stop giving us the free refills because there's no way he's not losing money with the amount of coffee we go through."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure but he wasn't who I was talking about."

"Oh?" She asked, trying not to sound too excited or interested but had a feeling she failed miserably.

"Yeah." He said with a shrug.

When she realized he wasn't going to elaborate she opened her mouth to prod him but Paris took that second to leave the video rental store and she was so excited she was talking a mile a minute with the story they'd found. Paris decided she had to get to work right away and Rory had already left her mom alone with her grandfather for so long so they separated not long after.

When Rory made it home it was barely five minutes before her mom and grandfather came in and she had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at her mom's dramatics when she ran up to her and hugged her tightly telling her how she'd never missed her so much. She knew her mom and grandparents had their issues but this was a little much, even for her mother. It was a few hours, not the end of the world.

That was only the beginning of the downfall of her night. When Dean showed up with the car that he told her he was building her, she didn't know how to feel. After all the talking and thinking she'd done about their relationship, she didn't feel right about accepting it. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to be with him, how could she take a present as big as a car? She was honestly a little relieved when her grandfather told him that she couldn't accept it and although she loved her mom for sticking up for her, kinda wished that she kept her mouth shut just this one time when she told her grandfather that it was fine, but she knew that wasn't a fair thing to think.

The whole ride to Gypsie's, her checking out the car, and the awkward goodbye, she was quiet because she kept thinking about the fact that she had to make up her mind about what she wanted. She knew she couldn't keep a car if she was planning on breaking up with the boy who made it for her. But how could she think she wanted to break up with someone who loved her so much that he literally built her a car? Then again, she knew deep down it wasn't about how he felt for her, it was about how she felt for him, it'd be cruel to stay with someone and lead them on if you didn't feel the same way they felt about you.

She decided to walk home from Gypsie's because she had to stop to pick up their dinner, they were having Chinese tonight, on her way home and when she passed the movie rental store noticed that there was now a big picture of her in the front window with the words 'citizen of the month' under it. Why did they have to choose her least favorite picture of herself?

'God, this is terrible, why do these things always happen to me?'

She was so focused looking at the picture that she didn't notice Jess walking up behind her. When she turned around he was lazily leaning up against the wall, she couldn't help but notice how cute he looked then forcefully pushed that thought away.

"Nice picture."

"Gee, thanks." She said sarcastically.

"You're very popular right now, I bet if you burn a few books they'll even make you mayor."

"This is ridiculous!"

"I don't know, I bet you have a lot of supporters on this, Pat Buchanan, Jerry Falwell, Kathie Lee Gifford."

"Jess, Stop!" She realized she was almost whining and stopped herself.

"Oh come on, it's a little funny."

"No, being the poster girl for censorship is not a little funny. You saw it earlier, the only videos not behind that curtain are Dumbo and Bambi! I mean they actually had a meeting earlier about whether or not 'Babe' should be behind the curtain so as not to offend people who keep kosher."

He shrugged, "It's a crazy world we live in."

"And where did they even find that stupid picture?"

"No, no, no, the picture is good, it's the people that are stupid."

"I'm never going to be able to leave my house again."

"At least you won't starve." He said eyeing the big bags of food she had in her hands.

"I can't look at it anymore!" Rory said still stuck on the picture, so she started to walk away.

"Relax, I don't think it will be there very long."

His words made her stop and turn around. "Why?"

"Just a guess," Jess said and started to walk in the opposite direction.

"Jess!"

"Enjoy the food."

"Come back here!"

"Why?"

"I'll give you an egg roll."

Jess stopped walking and turned back as if the egg roll convinced him but he was never going to walk away in the first place. "Yes?"

"What did you do?"

"Nothing much just wanted to make sure whoever rented 'Bambi' or 'Dumbo' gets a little surprise."

"What kind of a surprise?" Jess didn't respond and turned to walk away, she couldn't deny the thrill she got that he yet again did something like this to help her. "What did you do?"

"You owe me an egg roll." He turned his body and pointed at her but kept walking. She smiled brightly. He stopped after a few steps, "Oh, and I'll see you at Luke's tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, I'll be there."

"Good, you're the only part of this town I actually look forward to interacting with." He said and turned back around to walk into the night.

She smiled again, it wasn't an admission that he had feelings for her or anything but she had a feeling it was pretty close for a guy like Jess.