Jess had a very clear vision of what Stars Hollow would be like. A small town with small minded people whose ambitions and dreams reached only as far as the border of their home. The reality, he discovered, was far worse. Liz often spoke of her hometown with fondness and a certain level of rose tinted nostalgia. However, the fact she never went back to visit for any real amount of time spoke to her real feelings of the place.

It was claustrophobic. It was stifling. It was full of nosey do gooders who openly stared at Jess like he was the devil reincarnated personally sent to disrupt the perfect haven they carved out for themselves in nowhere Connecticut.

Jess had been standing at the bus stop smoking his way through his last pack of cigarettes waiting for his uncle to make an appearance. He had already promised himself that if another bus rolled up in front of him he would get on and get the hell out of here. Back to New York. Or he could try his luck out West. Anything would be better than spending another minute in this town. But of course Luke appeared in his flannel and cap just as Jess was figuring out his escape plan. Jess's memories of his uncle were hazy. The man would make an appearance to bail Liz out of a bad situation whenever she got in over her head with money or men. Usually the two were connected. As a young child he he idolised Luke. When Luke would show up it always meant that things were going to get better. A new apartment that was clean and in a better neighbourhood. A mother who would clean up her act, stay on her meds and actually hold down a job. A boyfriend who was angry or drunk or a complete loser would be kicked to the curb, something Luke had no problem participating in. As time went on Liz stopped reaching out for her big brother's help and Jess realised that Luke was just another man in a long line of suckers who accepted whatever bullshit Liz was feeding him. The hero worship he used to hold for his uncle had long since washed away by the time his mother shipped him here.

"Jess," Luke said stiffly and made an awkward gesture that Jess assumed was a wave.

"Luke," Jess replied, with thinly veiled contempt.

The bus stop happened to be directly in front of Luke's diner, where he also lived upstairs. Jess looked around the apartment as Luke spoke, taking in as much as he could about his new living situation.

"Well, here we are," Luke said, his voice a little too casual. "I know it's not exactly a Hilton. That's my bed, and that's your bed for now. Liz didn't exactly give me a lot of warning so I will need to get you an actual bed but the sheets are new. There's the bathroom, closet, dresser, phone, and over there's the kitchen. Are you hungry?"

It was just a room. It was bigger than most one bedroom apartments he had lived in before, but Jess had imagined something more for his Uncle Luke. The man who liked to play hero for his mother, the perpetual damsel in distress. He'd pictured a house—hell, he'd even thought there'd be a white picket fence. The suburban hell he had been envisioning shifted before his eyes. The apartment feeling more like a prison as the seconds went by.

The "bed" Luke pointed to for him wasn't even a real bed. It looked like a thick blanket on the floor with a pillow. It was set up right next to the end of Luke's actual bed, it was clear there would be no privacy in this shoebox apartment.

Was Luke seriously expecting Jess to sleep like this?

"This is it?" Jess asked, his voice flat.

"Yeah, it's not exactly ideal." Luke sighed, he had his hands in his pockets and didnt appear to know where to look "I'll get you a real bed soon."

Yeah, sure. The bed was the least of Jess's problems.

Jess dumped his bag onto the makeshift bed and shook it out. As he rifled through his things, Luke noticed that Jess did not have many things. Would Liz be shipping out the rest of his stuff? Surely a teenager had more worldly possessions then would fit in an overnight duffle bag. Would Luke need to take Jess shopping? The uncertainty of the situation truly pressed down on him and once again he was left spiralling in the wake of Liz's decisions.

"How was the bus ride?" Luke asked, desperately trying to figure out what he was supposed to do here.

"It was fine." Jess replied with disinterest.

"Well, do you want breakfast? The diner is downstairs so that's an upside of staying here, right?" Luke paused, then added, "I could make you something. I can close up early tonight and maybe we could—"

Jess had enough of listening to his uncle ramble awkwardly. He grabbed the book he was looking for found from the pile of clothes and walked past Luke. "Don't worry about it. See you later."

"Wait!" Luke called after him. "You don't know the town. Where are you going?"

"I'm sure I will figure it out," Jess replied with a snort, "As great as this tiny apartment is, I am not staying here all day."

Luke could only blink as his nephew disappeared out the door, a strange knot forming in his stomach. He wasn't sure if it was disappointment or something else, but it lingered, a reminder of the boy he hadn't seen in years and the distance between them now. He'd hoped for something more—maybe some sign that Jess would try to make this work, but the sharp slam of the door behind him told Luke everything he needed to know. For probably the thousandth time in his life he cursed his sister and her ability to make a mess that he had to clean up. Liz had begged him to take in Jess, insisting that he needed to get out of the city and that it would do him good. Now Luke wasn't sure this situation would be good for anyone other than Liz.

Evie reclined against the wall of mirrors in Miss Patty's dance school watching Jonathan practise his turns in the centre of the room. The smoke from the cigarette she was holding climbed high above her and mixed with the sunlight coming from the large windows creating a hazy dreamlike feel to the morning. It was early enough that the town still felt half-asleep, save for the sound of Jonathan's movements against the polished wood. Her fingers itched to grab her sketch pad to capture the moment but she was so behind on her homework that she knew she had to force herself to focus on the maths worksheet in front of her. Glancing down she sighed realising she still had a page to go before the torment was over.

"You better put that out before Miss Patty turns up for her tots and tutus class" Jonathan called, "you don't want to be banned from these hallowed halls do you?"

Evie looked up to see Jonathan grinning at her from across the room. His dark skin was glowing in the early morning sun as he set himself up for another pirouette. To Evie's eyes Jonathan moved with the grace of a ballerina and the force of a hurricane. He was a magmatic presence that appeared in her life at the end of middle school. The new kid and the loner who found each other in a small town that had already decided everything they were ever going to be.

"Whatever would I do with my days if I didn't get to watch you prance around the room? And how would you survive without your audience?" Evie drawled but put her cigarette out all the same.

"Shouldn't you be wrapping up now? I know for a fact you haven't even started your history homework and it's due tomorrow."

Suddenly Jonathan appeared in front of her and threw himself at her feet with a groan.

"Drama queen." Evie sniped with a fond smile as Jonathan's face lit up with mock indignation.

"Bite me." Jonathan replied. "I was hoping my very best friend in the world would let me take a peek at her work?"

Evie sighed without any real annoyance at him and held out her notebook for him to use.

"Thank you!" Jonathan squealed and enveloped Evie in a bear hug landing a wet kiss on her cheek.

"Get off of me you dick, you need a shower" Evie grumbled trying to extract herself from his arms.

"I know." Jonathan said with a satisfied smirk "you coming back to mine? Nana will be back from church by now and I know she'd love to have you for breakfast. She's at her best with someone to fuss over."

Gladys, Jonathan's Nana, was the ideal when it came to grandparents in Evies opinion. Although she could admit that not having any of her own could have impacted her viewpoint. For a moment Evie let herself indulge in the idea of sitting in Jonathan's grandmother's kitchen as she served them breakfast and spoke of the news from her church ladies. It wouldn't be gossiping she would insist, just sharing information. Then she would ask about Evie and her schoolwork and the Stars Hollow High population. It would be a nice way to spend the morning.

"Thanks but I've got to get back," Evie said, pressing the spiral edge of her notebook into her thumb. "My dad's on nights again, so I need to have something ready for him when he comes in."

Evie's relationship with her father was something Jonathan had a lot of opinions about and he wasn't afraid to share them. She wished he would let it go this morning as she really did not have the time or the energy to debate the tired subject again. Luck would appear to be on her side today as he decided not to comment.

"OK but I can come round later? If he's not home I can keep you company." Jonathan replied as tactfully as he could.

"Sure" Evie replied with a smile, grateful that he was happy to ignore her dad for once, "but be honest you only want to come over so you can watch Sex and they City in peace"

"To be fair, having Nana walk in on Samantha Jones monologuing about what constitutes the perfect dick has scarred me for life." he answered with a grin. With a laugh the pair gathered up their things and headed for the door. Promising to see each other later they headed in opposite directions just as Luke flipped the open sign on his diner. The sleepy town of Stars Hollow was beginning to wake up.