Part 14
Happy
***********************************************************
Welcome to the planet, Welcome to existence
Everyone's here, everyone's here
Everybody's watching you now
Everybody waits for you now
What happens next? What happens next?
I dare you to run, I dare you to run
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to run, I dare you to run
Like today never happened
Today never happened before
Welcome to the fallout, Welcome to resistance
The tension is here, the tension is here
Between who you are and who you could be
Between how it is and how it should be
I dare you to run, I dare you to run
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to run, I dare you to run
Like today never happened, Today never happened
Maybe redemption has stories to tell
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell
Where can you run to escape from yourself?
Where you gonna go? Where you gonna go?
Salvation is here
I dare you to run...
**********************************************
"It's 11:30," Luke said, seeing Lorelai enter the diner. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?"
"Early lunch break. I had to get out of there. Ugh," Lorelai said, collapsing onto a stool by the counter. "I'm never gonna find love."
"Haven't we had this conversation already?" Luke asked, starting to make some coffee for her.
"Well now I'm even more convinced than last time," Lorelai said.
"What is it now?"
"Sookie and Jackson," she said. "They just got back from their appointment with 'Baby's Doctor', as they call it. They got a picture of the baby, and they won't stop gushing over it!"
"Sookie's your best friend," Luke said. "Shouldn't you be happy for her?"
"I am!!" Lorelai exclaimed. "But I can only take so much of the baby talk... dear god, the baby talk..."
Luke snickered. "What do want to eat?"
"A big fat greasy burger and fries please?"
Luke shook his head. "Someday I'm gonna make you eat a salad."
"And on that day I will stage a revolt, because that is simply inhumane."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Death by heart attack on a plate, coming right up."
"And don't forget the French fries!!!" Lorelai called as he went to give Caesar her order.
It was Thursday morning, and Lorelai was still worn out from the long party the night before. Rory seemed to have had a good time, and she'd even convinced her father to spend the night and head back to Boston the next day, so Lorelai was glad. She'd tried to talk to her after everyone went home and see how Rory felt about Jess' leaving, but Rory didn't seem to want to talk about it, so she had backed off.
But she still felt uneasy about the whole situation. There was something weird about Jess just up and leaving like this. It was so unresolved. On the one hand, she figured it would be better for both of them in the end. They'd both be able to move on more easily.
On the other hand, though, it could just be an easy out for both of them. Lorelai knew better than anyone that running away from one's problems and pain instead of dealing with them was never a good idea. She didn't want Rory to wake up one morning in 6 months and realize she was still heartbroken.
"Here's your burger," Luke said, handing her the plate.
"God bless you good man," she said with a grin before taking a bite. "So um... where's Jess?"
"At school," Luke said.
"Oh right," Lorelai chuckled a little. "Duh. I mean it's 11:30, of course he's at school." She paused. "Is he all packed?"
"He started yesterday," Luke said, "and he's gonna pack some more tonight. But I'm gonna send most of his stuff over there after he's gone."
"Oh yeah," Lorelai nodded. "That would make sense." She sighed. "Is he all right?"
"He's dealing," Luke said. "He's not exactly skipping through fields of wild flowers, but... he's gonna be ok." He paused. "How about Rory?"
Lorelai smiled a little. "She's doing an impressively good job of pretending she's good. But I know better." Lorelai sighed. "See this is why I'm so pessimistic about my future love life. Even if I do eventually find love, who's to say it's not gonna end horribly, with both of us miserable and worse off than we were before we met?"
"Not all love is doomed to end with misery," Luke said. "Ask some people who've been married a few decades. They'll tell you."
Lorelai took a long sip of coffee. "I want that," she said. "I want a marriage. Something stable, something I can count on, you know?"
"Well, marriages aren't always perfect," Luke said. "I mean haven't you ever heard of divorce?"
"Oh come on, Luke, make up your mind. One minute you're Marriage's biggest fan, and now you're putting it down? Pick one side and stick to it!"
Luke sighed. "Fine," he grunted. "Marriage is generally a good thing. GENERALLY."
"That's the spirit," Lorelai said. She chuckled a little," Hey, I have a kind of a wacky idea."
"You say it like this isn't always the case," Luke said.
"Stop being such a sour sport and listen to my crazy idea," Lorelai commanded. "Ok. You know how sometimes, kids who are friends make those pacts that are like 'if neither of us is married by the time we're 35, we'll marry each other'?"
"Yeah," Luke said. "What's your point?"
"Why don't we do that?" Lorelai suggested.
"Lorelai, you ARE 35," Luke said. "And I'm a little too busy to get married this week."
"Well we can change the year," Lorelai said. "So it'll be like a VERY last resort, obviously. Like, let's just agree to get married if neither of us has found someone by the time we're 45?" Luke still looked skeptical. "Oh come on," Lorelai whined. "We're both very attractive people, you and I. Chances are slim to none that we'll both be alone and miserable in ten years." She offered her hand. "Come on, just shake my hand, we'll make it official."
Luke made no move for her hand. "What if we drive each other crazy?"
"Wouldn't be anything new for us," Lorelai said. "Ok fine, how about this. When you come over for our movie night, we'll make it a trial run. You know, no crazy married couple stuff like kissing or talking about taxes or arguing about whose family we get stuck with for the holidays, but just normal stuff. Spending an evening together without any homicides or suicides." She sighed. "If it goes horribly awry, we'll just call the whole thing off, ok?"
Luke shook his head with a slight smirk. "Fine. Just don't expect me to bring you flowers or anything."
"Now there's something a girl loves to hear after she's asked a guy to marry her," Lorelai called as Luke walked into the back.
**************************************************
"How many cups have you had?" Luke asked.
"Hmm," Rory contemplated, her leg jittering. "I don't know. Lost count after 4."
Luke shook his head. "All right," he said. "That's it. I'm cutting you off."
"Come on Luke," Lane pleaded with him. "She graduated yesterday. Consider it a token of apology for not coming to the ceremony."
Luke sighed and started pouring, reluctantly. "It's not fair when you both gang up on me like that."
"Yeah well life's not fair," Rory said, picking up the cup. "Thanks for this."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Luke said. "Seriously though. No more." He walked back to the counter.
"Ok Rory," Lane said quietly. "You're really worrying me here. We've been here for almost 2 hours. You've had 6 cups of coffee, and you're eyes are glazed over. Seriously. You haven't blinked in at least 3 minutes."
"It's the caffeine," Rory said. "I don't think I've ever had this much in such a short period of time before." She took another gulp.
"Postponing this isn't gonna make it easier," Lane reasoned with her. "And I don't think the caffeine overload is gonna help much either."
"I don't wanna do it," Rory whined. "I'm scared."
"He's not gonna bite you," Lane said.
"How do you know? You don't even know him that well."
"Well he's never mentioned any deep admiration for Mike Tyson, so I think it's safe to rule out vicious biting as a reaction." She paused. "Come on, Rory. You said you wanted to say goodbye to him for real. If you don't do it now, you'll chicken out tomorrow, and then he'll just leave-"
"No," Rory insisted, standing up, suddenly determined. "I'm not gonna do it." She took one last gulp of coffee. "I'm going up." She strode away from the table towards the stairs to Luke and Jess' apartment.
"Luke," Rory said loudly as she walked past the counter without so much as pausing, "I'm going upstairs!!!"
"Um.... Ok?" Luke said, confused, watching her disappear behind the curtain.
Her heart was beating so fast because of all the caffeine, she couldn't stop. She didn't even think; she was just acting on instinct now.
She burst the door open, and Jess looked up from his packing, confused.
"Rory?" He asked. She didn't look up in acknowledgement. She walked straight over to him and his suitcase and started taking items of clothing and books out, putting them back in his dresser and back on his bookshelf.
"What do you think you're doing?" he asked.
"You're not leaving," she said, resolved, still not looking up from the task at hand.
"Oh come on, cut it out," he said, putting the books and things back in the suitcase.
"No!" She refused.
"What is the matter with you?" he asked. She wasn't acting like herself.
"I don't want you to leave," she said, finally stopping and establishing eye contact with him.
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
"I don't know how many other ways I can say it," she said. "But I'm not going to let you leave. I- I- I'll sabotage your car or something so it won't start!!!" she threatened.
"Yeah and I'm sure with all your great knowledge of cars, that'll work out great," he said.
"Stop looking at me like I'm crazy!" she whined.
"Why? You're sure acting it."
"I'm serious though," she said. "I don't want you to leave. Yeah, maybe I'm being selfish, but I don't care!!! I want you to stay here in Stars Hollow; I want you to blow off your father and your mother-I mean you hate them anyway, right? So start acting like it! Don't go to New York!!!"
"Rory, come on-"
"No, don't try to reason with me!!!" she yelled. "I made up my mind, I'm going to keep you here, no matter what it takes. If I have to lock you up in our basement, I'll do it, no problem-"
"Are you drunk or something?" he asked, incredulous.
"No!" she said. "Just a little hyped up on caffeine, that's all."
He sighed and shook his head. "That explains it."
"Explains what?" she asked. "The caffeine has nothing to do with it! I would still be doing this right now, even if weren't for my having consumed 6 cups of coffee downstairs," she said. "Except, I might not be talking so loudly, and I'd probably be blinking more often than I am. Should I be worried about that? Isn't that supposed to be dangerous for your eyes? I can't really remember, it's been a few years since biology, but I-"
"Relevancy is becoming an issue," Jess reminded her, trying not to raise his voice. He wanted to yell, but he knew he shouldn't. Everyone downstairs in the diner could probably hear them.
"Right. Sorry. I tend to ramble when I'm nervous or hyper or if I've had too much caffeine, and all three pretty much apply right now, so-"
"Come on," Jess said, heading towards the door.
"Come on where?" Rory asked, confused. "Where are we going?"
"Outside somewhere," he said. "I don't wanna talk about this here."
"Ok," Rory said. "Hold on a second, I'm going to empty your suitcase."
She headed toward the open suitcase on the bed, but Jess got to her first, grabbing her by the shoulders and steering her toward the door instead, Rory protesting the whole way. He steered her all the way through the diner and outside, and into Miss Patty's unlocked, and now empty, dance studio, Rory rambling the whole time. Finally, once he closed the door, he cut her off.
"What the hell are you trying to pull?!" he yelled.
Rory didn't understand why he was so mad all of a sudden. "I-I don't-"
"You do realize you're going to drive me out of my mind, right?" he asked. "I mean, you can't do stuff like this. Don't expect me to take you seriously when you're intoxicated with God knows how much coffee-"
"It's not the coffee," Rory insisted. "I'm being serious."
"Yeah right," Jess said. "Last time you were this hyper, you told me you wanted to abandon your dreams of being a reporter so you could go star in Chicago on Broadway."
"Well maybe I really did want that at the time," Rory said timidly.
"Come on, Rory," Jess said. "Let's be realistic here. Tomorrow morning, you're gonna wake up and feel like an idiot for doing this, and you're gonna say 'Hey Jess? Remember how I asked you to stay in Stars Hollow? Well I wasn't in my right mind, so just forget it. Drive Safe.' So let's just spare ourselves the embarrassment, and I'll go back to packing, you'll go back home-"
"No," Rory said, quieter this time. "I really mean it. I've been telling Lane that I want you to stay ever since last night when I found out you were leaving. So tomorrow morning when I wake up, I'm not going to feel like an idiot for doing this; I'm going to feel-"
"What the hell reason do I have to stay?!?!?!" he yelled.
"Me," Rory offered, tentative.
"Oh yeah, since things are so great between us right now," he said, sarcastically.
"Oh come on, Jess this is stupid!!!" She cried. "I-I love you!!!" he looked away, but she didn't give up. "That's right, I love you. And you love me, and this whole thing is just ridiculous! I mean, yeah, ok, so I started it by breaking up with you, but-can't I just-I dunno, take it back?"
"Great," Jess said sarcastically. "So we'll kiss and make up and live happily ever after; or at least until your mother finds something else wrong with me and convinces you that I'm not worthy of you-"
"Forget my mother," Rory said. "I'm not going to let her opinions have any bearing over mine whatsoever; not anymore." He didn't answer. He still wouldn't look at her. Her anxiety manifested itself as tears started welling in her eyes. "Look I'm sorry that I hurt you," she said quietly. "I really am. I was just... I dunno, I've never been in a relationship this intense before, I've never felt like this before; Dean was the only guy I ever dated before you, and I never felt this way about him-"
"I'm familiar with the history," Jess cut her off. "What are you getting at?"
She sighed. "I was just really scared. That's why I did it; it had almost nothing to do with my mother and her crazy, irrational disposition to find problems with you. I was just scared."
"And what are you saying?" Jess asked, his skepticism fading just a little. "That you're not scared anymore?"
"No I'm pretty much still terrified," Rory admitted. "But I'm not as scared of what could happen if you stay as I am of watching you leave tomorrow night."
He sighed, staring at the ground. He didn't want to be hard on her. He didn't want to have yelled, and he didn't want to walk away and pretend he didn't want her back. He DID want her back. More than anything. But how could he just turn around and let her kiss him and pretend it was all better? She thought she was scared, but what about him? He was scared out of his mind. He'd never felt like this before either, but he didn't know how to hurt her, and she obviously was capable of hurting him. If he got back into this, would it only be a matter of time before she hurt him again?
He just didn't want to be something in her life that she just got used to, like Dean. By the time he came along, Dean was just a part of her life that she didn't really need anymore, but didn't know how to get rid of. He didn't want to be that for her... she certainly was more than that to him.
But there was something in the idea of going back to the way things were that appealed to him. Hell, there were a LOT of things about that which appealed to him. And he'd never been so miserable in his life as he had been the past few days without her.
"Say something?" she whispered after a few moments.
He took a deep breath and turned toward her slowly. He didn't plan to tell her he would stay or anything... but he was tired of fighting with her. He just wanted her to know that he understood, and everything was ok between them. "I'm not so good with words, so you're a pretty tough act to follow." He smirked a little to show her he wasn't angry, and as she returned a grateful smile, all his strength to refuse her just disappeared.
"I'm so sorry," she said, stepping toward him. "I don't know what I can say to make it better-"
"Don't say anything," he said. "I get it."
She smiled and closed her eyes, leaning in to press her lips softly to his, her legs going weak at the mere closeness of him. But momentarily, it ended. He pulled away suddenly, and her eyes sprung open, bewildered.
"What am I doing?" he muttered to himself, taking a few steps away from her. She sighed. She'd figured it was too good to be true.
"What's the matter?" she asked cautiously.
He looked at the ground. "I'm still going to New York."
The words stung her like a thousand knives in the heart. Now even she wasn't enough to keep him in Stars Hollow. "I see," she managed to get out.
"I can't keep turning my life upside down for you, Rory," he said softly after a moment. "I've done it a few times before, and every time I did, I ended up getting hurt."
She nodded, biting her lip to keep from crying too much. "I know. I'm sorry." She turned to head toward the door, but his voice stopped her.
He barely thought before saying it... but as soon as the idea popped into his head, he knew it was what he wanted. "When I come back, you better not make me regret it this time."
She felt like she couldn't breathe as she turned back to him. "What do you mean?"
The corners of his lips curled up ever so slightly. "I'm gonna come back."
"After how long?" she asked.
He shrugged. "I dunno. A couple weeks I guess. Maybe less."
And now the waterworks came. She felt almost embarrassed to be crying at the mere thought that he wasn't going to leave her forever, but she didn't care enough anymore to let the embarrassment bother her. "Does this mean...?" she asked.
He rolled his eyes and nodded. "Yeah yeah yeah, we'll kiss and make up, pretend the whole ugly mess never even happened, blah blah blah." She grinned at him, and somehow, her legs managed to carry her body over to him, and her arms wrapped themselves around him so tightly, she was surprised she wasn't cutting off his circulation. She just closed her eyes and was thankful for the fact that he was hugging her back; she couldn't imagine how she'd managed to stay sane without touching him or kissing him for the 5 days they'd been apart.
She kissed him, excitedly. "You're not going to be sorry," she exclaimed. "I swear to God, you won't be sorry!" Jess chuckled. She looked just like a little kid who'd been given a new bike. "Really! I'll-I'll read any Hemingway book you want me to!! I'll take over shifts for you at the diner, and-oh!!! I'll make you cookies!!! Apparently, I make very good ones. And I- "
"While you're doing all this, when are you gonna have time for me?"
"I'll cut back on sleep," she said simply with a smile.
He snickered, and took her face in his hands to kiss her. He'd really missed being able to do that. Her kisses killed him.
But as the kiss deepened, he reluctantly pulled his face away from hers, still leaving his hands on her waist.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
He sighed. "I still don't know why I'm doing this," he said.
"Kissing me?" she asked.
"No," he said. "I know why I'm doing that. I don't know why I'm just caving in like this, though." He shook his head with a smile. "You're a very persuasive girl, ya' know that?"
She chuckled. "It was the threat to lock you in my basement that really made your mind up, wasn't it?"
"That and the promise of cookies," he joked with her.
Rory laughed. "You just have to face it, Jess," she teased him. "You're completely and totally whipped."
He rolled his eyes. "You're gonna pay for that one."
"Ok, now I'll make cookies AND brownies." She smiled and kissed him again, this time, not letting him pull away to voice his doubt. She wanted him to know there wasn't anything to doubt anymore. She wrapped her arms around his back, pulling him even closer to her, and they both fell completely into the kiss, his hands wandering up to her head and losing themselves in her silky long brown hair. After a minute or two, as his lips began planting kisses on her neck and cheek, she asked, "So you're really leaving tomorrow night?"
"That's the plan," he murmured, his lips barely leaving her skin.
"So that means this is our last night together for a couple weeks, right?"
He raised his head and looked at her, having a feeling he knew what she was getting at. "Yeah, that's true."
She smiled a mischievous smile, a twinkle in her eyes. "So I guess we'll just have to make the most of it, huh?"
He grinned. "Yeah, I guess so."
"Hartford?" she suggested.
""Well actually I was thinking we could go just over to the gazebo, give the whole town a show."
She snickered. "You're very crude, you know that?"
"What?" he said, playing innocent. "Really, they all lead very boring lives. They could use some entertainment."
She smiled and kissed him again quickly. "Do you wanna get your car keys, or shall I?"
"You do it," Jess said. "If I go, Luke'll give me the 20 minute lecture on safe driving and the whole deal."
"Ok," she said. "I'll get them in a second." She leaned in and kissed him again, and really had to force herself to pull away. "Ok, we're really gonna have to do something about those lips of yours," she said, walking toward the door. "They're much too kissable, and completely distracting."
"I'll throw away all my chapstick," he called after her, barely able to suppress his smile.
"It's a plan!" she called. "Go wait by the car for me!"
************************************************************************
How long have they been gone?
Lane glanced at the clock again. 7:35. Had they left at 7:20 or 7:25? She couldn't really remember. She tapped her foot nervously. She knew whatever was going on over at Miss Patty's between Rory and Jess was going to have a huge affect on her best friend's attitude for the next few months. Either they were fighting, which meant Jess would leave tomorrow as planned, and everything would be a huge sad mess... or SOMEHOW, she was convincing to stay.
The odds did seem to be out of Rory's favor here... or at least they would seem that way to anyone who didn't know them. Lane knew them, and she knew how Jess felt about Rory. He wasn't big on forgiveness usually... but he also wasn't good at turning her down. He had never been able to fully tear himself away from her in the past, no matter how bleak his chances with her looked, or how firmly he was told that he wasn't right for her.
Just when Lane was trying to work up the courage to go over to Miss Patty's and try to eavesdrop through the door, Rory came bustling into the diner. She didn't stop to look at Lane, so Lane didn't get a chance to see whether her facial expression was happy or sad. Rory made a beeline for the counter.
"Rory," Luke exclaimed, confused. "Where'd Jess go?"
He probably just left, Lane thought to herself, preparing herself for the worst. He got so mad that he just got in his car and headed for New York, without any of his clothes or anything.
"He's outside," Rory responded. She added tentatively, "Um, could I go upstairs and grab his car keys?"
Oh no, Lane thought. She was really going to try to sabotage his car like she'd threatened to before. Lane had thought she was just joking. Oh this was going to be a disaster.
"Why do want his keys?" Luke asked, suspicious.
"Just cuz... he asked me to get them for him."
"Ok, I guess its fine," Luke said, completely confused, peering out the window to see if Jess really was out there.
"Ok great, thanks!" Rory called, practically sprinting up the stairs. Frustrated and anxious beyond belief, Lane followed, not even bothering to ask if it was alright with Luke.
She found Rory frantically ripping Jess' room apart. "Messy punk," Rory murmured under her breath, looking in his dresser.
"What the hell is going on?!" Lane cried.
"Oh Lane!" Rory said, surprised to see her standing there. "I didn't hear you come in."
Lane spotted the car keys in clear vision on his bedside table and grabbed them quickly, dangling them just out of Rory's reach. "If you don't tell me what's going on, I won't give you the keys."
Rory chuckled a little. "He's not going to stay in New York."
"What?"
"He's leaving tomorrow night, and then he's gonna come back in a couple weeks."
Lane's eyes widened. "Does that mean you and he are--?"
Rory nodded, giddily. "100 percent back together."
Lane squealed with joy as the two girls hugged, ecstatic.
"Oh my Gosh I'm so excited for you!" Lane exclaimed. "It's not even my love life, and I can't stop smiling! My cheeks actually hurt from smiling too much."
Rory giggled. "I know it's unbelievable, isn't it? I mean... I can't believe he's actually gonna stay here for me."
Lane contemplated for a moment. "He's really whipped isn't he?"
Rory nodded. "Kinda, but don't mention it in front of him. Guys are very sensitive about these things."
Lane handed over the keys. "Here you go. Where are you guys headed?"
"Hartford."
"Where in Hartford?"
Rory smiled slyly. "Wherever."
"You two crazy kids," Lane joked, shaking her head. She knew exactly what they were up to.
Rory laughed. "I have to go, he's waiting by the car. But I'll tell you all about it tomorrow night ok?"
"You better," Lane said as Rory headed out the door.
**************************************************
"Hey Rory, did you find the keys ok?" Luke asked.
"Yeah, I got 'em," Rory replied.
She looks really happy, Luke thought. What happened?
"Are you guys going somewhere?"
"Yeah," she said with a smile. "Hartford."
"Where in Hartford?"
"Umm... bookstore?" she lied through her teeth.
"Yeah sure," Luke said, skeptic. "Just don't be back too late."
Rory nodded. "We won't. Oh and Luke?"
"Yeah?"
"I wouldn't bother trying to find boxes to send his stuff in," she said.
"What are you talking about?"
"He just doesn't need you to send his stuff to New York anymore, that's all." She grinned again, hurrying out the door. "Bye Luke!"
As she walked out of the diner, Jess looked up at her, his stomach jumping at the mere sight of her modest smile. She handed him the keys.
"Thanks," he said, going to unlock the door, but her hand on his arm stopped him.
"Hold on a second," she requested.
"What is it?" he asked.
"You're really sure about this, right?" she asked. "Because I don't want to find out in a month that you're still upset with me. Not that you wouldn't have the right to be, but-"
"Rory, it's forgotten, ok?" he smirked a little. "I think you've done more than your share of apologizing. Besides, if you can forgive me for all the times I screwed up, then I can sure as hell put this behind me-"
Rory laughed aloud. "What are you talking about? When have you screwed up?"
"Plenty of times."
"Name one."
"The time I crashed your car."
"Oh. Right."
Jess chuckled. "Not to mention the way I used to say I'd call and then never call you-"
"Please, that's NOTHING," Rory interrupted him. "Last year, I kissed you, and then ran of to another state for three months without so much as ONE phone call-"
"Well yeah, cuz you were with Dean then," he said. "I'm the one who went after you even when I knew you were with him-"
"Well it's not like I wasn't giving you mixed signals. I was flirting with you, it wasn't your fault-"
"No, at first you weren't flirting with me. I was just around all the time, and eventually you fell for me. Probably just because I wouldn't leave you alone," he smiled. She sighed.
"Fine then, let's just both agree that we've both screwed up numerous times."
"And we're both forgiven," Jess added.
"That's right," Rory said. "What's past is past, right?"
"Couldn't have said it better myself," Jess agreed. He kissed her. "Come on, it's getting late, let's hit the road."
************************************************************
When they got to the front desk at the motel, the clerk eyed them suspiciously. He knew he'd seen them before.
"Welcome back," he said.
Rory blushed obviously. "Oh. Um, thanks..."
"We need a room, please," Jess changed the subject.
"Sure thing," The clerk said, going to the computer. "Out-of-towners?" he asked, skeptically.
"That we are," Jess said before Rory had a chance to attempt a lie. She didn't work well under pressure like this.
"Where from?" The clerk asked. They didn't look old enough to be traveling alone together.
"New York city," Jess answered, taking Rory's hand in his to reassure her. He knew she was always nervous they were going to get caught.
"Yeah, New York," Rory piped in. "His parents-his family lives-I mean, his family is from there so-"
"We're having a family reunion," Jess cut her off. "Just wanted to get some alone time, my folks are staying in our apartment."
Rory nodded. "Yeah. What he said."
The clerk nodded, an amused smirk playing his lips. "I see. I hope our accommodations are satisfactory."
Rory nodded. "Oh yeah sure. I mean-hey, there's cable, right? What more could we ask for?" She laughed nervously.
"How's that room coming?" Jess asked, a little impatient. The clerk handed him a key.
"You're in 214," he said. "That'll be 40 dollars."
Jess pulled out his wallet and paid.
"Thanks a bunch," said the clerk. "Enjoy your stay."
Walking outside, Rory and Jess squeezed each other's hands; Rory did so to keep calm; Jess did so to keep from bursting out laughing.
"Oh my God," she murmured once they were outside. Jess chuckled. "Why are you laughing?" she asked.
"Because if I'd laughed in there, he would have known we were lying."
"That was not funny, that was embarrassing," Rory insisted.
"Oh come on," he said. "'There's cable, what more could we ask for?' You gotta admit, it was pretty funny."
A reluctant smile played her lips. "Ok. It was a little funny." Jess smiled victoriously. "But it was also a little disturbing," Rory added.
"How so?"
"I had no idea you were so good at lying," she teased, "I don't know if I'll ever be able to trust you again. I mean sure, you SAY you're working one night, but for all I know you're really out at some pub with a floozy in a tight skirt."
Jess draped an arm across her shoulders. "Nah, I wouldn't do that. Hanging out with floozies would be bad for my image."
"And dating a small town prep school girl isn't?"
"Well the girl's mother hates me, so that makes up for it," he joked, leading her toward the door to their room.
"You know," she began, turning towards him, putting her arms around his neck. "She probably won't hate you anymore."
"Yeah right," Jess chuckled. "We're talking about your mother, Rory. She thinks I'm a criminal, remember?"
"Well you sort of are a criminal," Rory said.
"Excuse me?"
"Well you know, what with the thievery and all."
"Hey, I returned all the stuff I took remember? So it wasn't really crime so much as it was... an elaborate prank."
Rory sighed. "The point is, my mother doesn't have some hidden agenda against you. She just wants me to be happy, that's all."
"Well are you happy?"
"As a clam."
"Good. So I guess we have nothing to worry about then, huh?"
"Yeah, you could say that." She smiled and pulled him closer to her for a kiss. She felt almost giddy to be able to kiss him again; it was just like their first few days together. Every little touch, every flirtatious smile, every kiss was exciting; it all gave her butterflies.
Never breaking the kiss, Jess fumbled with the keys and managed to get the door open.
"Home sweet home," he said, closing the door behind them.
"What time is it?" Rory asked.
Jess checked his watch. "8:15. What time do you have to be home?"
"I said 11:30 in the message I left my mom," she answered.
"Ok," he said. "We've got a few hours. There's no rush."
She smiled, relieved, and fell into another kiss. His fingers played with the hem of her shirt, and the way that his hands felt when they scarcely touched the bare skin of her back drove her crazy. Soon, she began tugging on the hem of his shirt, and he helped her take it off. They didn't have to go through the nervous banter that they had before. They both just felt so relieved to be back together; they didn't need to talk about it anymore. It was understood. They could just be together. It was all either of them wanted.
********************************************************
The pathway is broken, and the signs are unclear
And I don't know the reason why you brought me here
But just because you love me the way that you do
I'm gonna walk through the valley
If you want me to
Cuz I'm not who I was when I took my first step
And I'm clinging to the promise you're not through with me yet
So if all of these trials bring me closer to you
Then I will go through the fire
If you want me to
It may not be the way I would have chosen
When you lead me through a world that's not my home
But you never said it would be easy
You only said I'd never go alone
So when the whole world turns against me
And I'm all by myself
And I can't hear you answer
My cries for help
I'll remember the suffering
Your love put you through
And I will go through the valley
If you want me to...
***************************************************
"It's 11:32," Jess murmured through a kiss, eyeing his watch.
Rory sighed, and looked up at the house from where they stood on the lawn. "Well the only lights in the house that are on are in her room," she said. "That means she's not sitting in the living room waiting for me, which is a good sign."
Jess nodded. "Yeah, unless she's just watching us from her bedroom window with binoculars."
Rory chuckled. "No, her binoculars don't work," she said. "She dropped them out the window when she was trying to spy on Lane and I a couple months ago. She was convinced we were planning a surprise party for her birthday."
"Isn't her birthday in the middle of the summer?"
Rory nodded. "That's what she thought we were doing, just the same. But enough of that, back to the kissing please?"
Jess chuckled as she kissed him again. After a minute or so, he was so engrossed, he nearly forgot the issue of time. He eyed his watch again, and pried his lips away.
"11:36 and counting."
Rory sighed. "Ok." She kissed his cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow at 11?"
"Graduation doesn't start until 11:30," he said.
"I know," she said with a smile. "I wanna see you before it starts. Take a picture of you in your cap and gown, you know."
He rolled his eyes. "You HAD to remind me of the cap and gown didn't you?"
"Hey, you could always do what Zak in 'She's All That' did, and just go naked with a soccer ball."
"Brilliant idea." He kissed her again. "Bye."
"Bye."
Rory unlocked her door and went inside. She was about to head straight to her room and wait for her mother to seek her out, but decided instead to go up and see her. She found Lorelai's room a complete mess, with clothes and accessories tossed everywhere.
"Whoa," she said, stepping over a pile of clothes to get into the room. "What happened in here? Hurricaine Lorelai?"
Lorelai popped her head out of the closet with a smile. "Rory! You're home."
"Yeah, just got back," she said, sitting on the bed. "What are you doing?"
"Trying to pick out an outfit for Lane's graduation tomorrow." Lorelai replied. "What are you gonna wear? Cuz we wouldn't wanna clash."
"I was gonna wear that lavender dress with the straps and ruffles on the bottom."
"The Betsy Johnson Dress?" Lorelai asked. Rory nodded. "Ooo, fancy," Lorelai commented. She smiled slyly and added, "Who are you trying to impress?"
Rory sighed. "It's not about impressing anyone, I just wanna look nice. There are going to be a lot of pictures taken, and should I be in one, I'd prefer to look good."
Lorelai nodded. "Ok. That helps actually, because that will look very nice with my pink paisley vintage-y dress." She smiled. "Thanks."
Rory took a deep breath. "Mom, I um... I should tell you..." Lorelai looked up attentively.
"Yeah, honey?"
"Well when I left you that message saying I would be at a bookstore in Hartford tonight, I um... I didn't mention that I went with Jess."
"Oh," was all that Lorelai said.
"We're sort of... back together," Rory said. "Well not sort of. Completely. We're definitely, completely back together."
Lorelai smiled. "I figured as much."
"You did?"
"Oh please," Lorelai said with a chuckle, hanging her clothes back up in her closet. "'I'm going to a bookstore in Hartford'? The car was with me, and you sure didn't walk there. There's only one person in the world I can think of who would voluntarily take you to Hartford for the sake of books."
Rory smiled a little. "You don't seem very mad."
Lorelai sighed. "That's probably because I'm not."
"Really?"
"I'm not mad. I just want you to be happy, sweetie. And from what Luke said about the look on your face before you left, you're a lot happier when you're with Jess."
Rory smiled. "I am," she said.
"Good," Lorelai said. "So he's really staying?"
Rory nodded.
"Wow," Lorelai commented. "What made him change his mind?"
Rory sighed. "I did, I guess."
Lorelai smiled, completely touched that any boy would care enough about Rory to make such a huge change in plans just to be in close proximity to her. "Wow. That just goes to show you, the Gilmore women know what they want, and they will not be denied." Rory nodded, but an awkward silence filled the air as Lorelai continued putting her clothes away. After a moment, she threw the dress in her hands onto a nearby chair.
"You know, this can wait till tomorrow," she said. "What do you say you and I stay up and eat some ice cream out of the pint and have a girl's night in? It's been a while since we've had a real talk, you and I." She smiled. "I'll even give you a manicure and pedicure so you can look extra special for your boyfriend's graduation tomorrow."
Rory smiled. "Well you know I can never refuse ice cream out of the pint." She stood, and Lorelai put her arm around Rory's shoulder's as they both headed down the stairs, talking and laughing like nothing had ever changed. Everything finally felt right again.
**************************************************************************
"I look like an idiot," Jess said, taking his cap off.
"Oh come on," Rory said, taking it from his hands and putting it back on his head. "It's not that bad. It makes you look studious."
"Well I'm not studious, so no wonder it looks all wrong." He took it off again.
"If you don't complain about it until after the ceremony, then I promise I won't make you wear it in ANY of the pictures I take." She offered her hand. "Deal?"
"Add a kiss to that, and you've got a deal," he said. She smiled, taking his face in her hands, and kissed him. He nodded. "Ok then. It's settled."
She smiled with a sigh as they started walking side by side toward the door. The ceremony would start soon, and Rory had to go to her seat. "It's nice being able to do that again."
"I agree," he said. "After graduation, we can do that some more."
"Really?" she asked. "You don't have plans or anything?"
He shook his head. "Just packing," he said. "I was supposed to pack last night, but... I got a little distracted by some crazy girl with too much coffee in her system. I'm sure Luke wouldn't mind if you 'Helped me pack'."
Rory smiled. "I'd love to." She kissed him again quickly. "I have to go to my seat. But hey, you'll probably get sick of hearing this after the ceremony, so I wanna be the first one to say it. Congratulations."
He tried to play it off as no big deal. "Oh come on-"
"No, stop it. You should be proud. You could have flunked out last year. I can't even imagine how much work you must have done to catch up in time to graduate." She took his cap out of his hands and placed it on his head again. "Seriously. Congratulations."
Jess watched her walk down the hall and into the auditorium. After she was out of sight, he glanced in one of the mirrors that had been set up for the graduating kids in the hallway. The outfit did look kind of stupid... but it didn't look as out of place on him as he'd expected it to. He was a really different person than he was when he'd first moved there. He'd become somebody that people were actually capable of missing, somebody worth keeping around. All his life he'd been an incredibly attractive person... but it wasn't until then that he was able to look in the mirror and actually like the person he saw.
*******************************************************************
"You're absolutely sure?"
"Positive," Jess answered. "No matter what happens, I'll be back in Stars Hollow 2 weeks from today, if not sooner."
"Well how can you be so sure?" Rory challenged him. "What if he's as persuasive as I am?"
Jess chuckled. "Nobody's as persuasive as you, Rory."
She was stalling. The walk from the diner to Gypsy's, where his car was being checked for problems, had never taken so long as it was taking today. She even dragged her feet, in vain hopes to prolong their time together before he drove off. Graduation had ended hours ago, and they'd spent the whole evening until then up in Luke's apartment talking, kissing, laughing, and just trying to make up for lost time. They could have gone to the graduation party that Lane and Dave had gone to, but they'd decided to hang out alone instead.
"Seriously, though," she said. "What if you get there, and he's the ideal father that you've always wanted?"
"Rory, there's very little chance that I'll get there and he'll be Iggy Pop."
"Iggy Pop is your ideal father?"
"Hey, he was cool, he was a phenomenal musician, he was one of the forefather's of punk, and he was well-read."
"He rolled around in his own blood on stage."
"Well nobody's perfect." He grinned. "Who'd you expect my ideal father to be? Mister Rogers?"
"No," Rory said. "I'm just saying, what if he turns out to have a good reason for you to stay?"
"What would be a good reason for me to stay?"
"I dunno; he could offer you all kinds of stuff, like... money, or a place to stay....."
"So my ideal father is a Genie from a magic lamp?"
"Well what if he's rich?" Rory asked, ignoring his amused comments.
"Then he can buy some other kid's love," Jess replied.
"Then what if he's really nice?"
"YOU'RE really nice," Jess said. "One really nice person in my life is sufficient, thanks."
Rory rolled her eyes. "So you're telling me that even if you're father turns out to be nice, AND rich, AND the kind of guy who can promise you all sorts of things that you want-"
"I will still be on your front porch in two weeks, yes. That is what I am telling you."
"Even if he's a world famous author?"
"Yes."
"And if he offers you a quarter of a million dollars worth in books?"
"Still."
"Even if he offers you a brand new pony in exchange for staying?"
"Even then." Jess said. "Well, except then I would show up in two weeks on your lawn with a brand new pony as a gift for you, cuz Lorelai told me you always wanted one."
"You stole the hypothetical pony that your hypothetical ideal father gave you?" She asked, faking shock.
"Hey, you're the one who called me a thief, I'm just trying to live up to your expectations," he said.
Rory sighed as they neared the car. Luke was there, filling the tank with gas, talking to Gypsy. Rory tugged on Jess' arm to make him stop walking before they got too close.
"What is it?" he asked. She didn't answer; she just kissed him.
After a minute, he pulled away a little and smiled at her. She didn't smile.
"What's wrong?" he asked. "You look worried."
"I am," she said. "I know it's stupid, because you promise you're coming back... but I can't help it."
He kissed her to comfort her anxiety. "Hey, you know how to get to New York. Last time you thought I was gone for good, you went and got me. It worked then, it'll work again."
Feeling slightly reassured, she let his hand on her back lead her slowly towards the car again. "And you won't get annoyed with me if I call you in New York every day?"
"Why should I?" he asked. "I call you every day here in Stars Hollow, and we're only a 5 minute walk away from each other." He smiled. "Besides, I'll need you to keep me updated on all the exciting stuff going on in town," he said sarcastically.
Rory snickered. "Cuz lord knows you're more concerned about the everyday town gossip than anything."
"Damn straight," he played along.
"You got everything you need?" Luke asked as they neared the car.
"Pretty much," Jess said. "Is the car ok?" he asked Gypsy.
"Well considering it was a Grade A piece of crap when I sold it to you, it's amazing," Gypsy responded. "You're all set to go."
Jess nodded. "Just give me a minute," he said to no one in particular, turning back to Rory.
"Well," she said, trying to be optimistic. "Two weeks isn't that long, right?"
"I think we'll manage," he said. "And as soon as I get back, I'll show up on your front porch-"
"With or without a pony," Rory added with a smile.
"Do I wanna know?" Luke whispered to Gypsy.
"Probably not," she replied bluntly.
"Hey by the way," Rory said, "If it turns out that your father actually IS Iggy Pop, make sure you call me and let me know. Cuz in spite of that whole rolling-around-in-his-own-blood-on-stage thing, I still do have a lot of respect and admiration for that guy."
He chuckled and kissed her quickly before opting for a hug instead. It felt weird kissing her in front of Luke.
"I love you," she whispered so softly, nobody but him could hear it.
"I love you too," he replied, not ready to let go of her yet.
Luke looked up at the dark sky. "It's getting pretty late, you should hit the road soon."
Jess sighed. "Fine, fine," she said. He pulled away from her a little, but she kissed his cheek before he got too far.
He and Luke faced each other, both unsure of what they were supposed to do.
"So uh..." Luke began, "I guess just-ya' know, good luck, and drive safe, and all that..."
"Yeah, thanks," Jess replied. They stood silently, staring at their shoes for a bit before Luke awkwardly opened his arms, seeming to suggest a hug.
"Oh man," Jess said, rolling his eyes.
"Oh come on!" Gypsy said, pushing them together into a quick hug. Rory giggled. It was about time.
Jess turned back to Rory. "Hey," he said, "It might be pretty late when I get there, so-"
"I'll still be up," she assured him. "You can call."
He nodded. "Ok."
"So... I guess it's time to say goodbye," she said.
"Not goodbye," he corrected her. "Say 'see you in two weeks'." He smirked. "As a future journalist, you really should learn to be more accurate."
She smiled as he got into his car. "See you in two weeks."
He didn't answer. He just smiled and started the ignition.
"Have fun," Luke offered before Jess hit the gas and headed off towards the interstate highway. Rory and Luke stood and watched, long after the car was out of sight.
"You think he'll like his dad?" Rory asked him.
Luke shrugged. "Who could say? I mean the guy deserted him. I think it's not so much a question of Jess liking him as it's a question of whether or not he'll forgive him."
Rory smiled. "Well Jess is capable of forgiveness," she said. "Believe me."
Hearing yelling in the distance, Luke looked around confused. "Do you hear that?"
Rory listened hard, but the noise got closer quickly. "She's coming," Rory said.
Moments later, Lorelai came into view, running faster than any woman in high heels had ever managed to run in the past.
"Wait!!!" she called. "I'm coming!!! I said I would and I'm here..." she trailed off as she neared Rory and Luke, seeing no car anywhere around. "Oh damn!" she said. "I'm too late."
"Late for what?" Luke asked.
"I wanted to be here for Jess," Lorelai said. "For moral support. I wanted to see him off and wave a handkerchief so he'd see us waving in his rearview mirror."
"She wanted to prove she really doesn't hate him," Rory explained to Luke.
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, that's pretty much what it comes down to." She sighed. "I tried to get here in time, I really did, but then Michel started acting up, and then there was a problem with the water heater, and customers kept calling the front desk about why their showers were spewing ice water-"
"It's ok mom," Rory reassured her. "I'm sure Jess wasn't all too heartbroken that you couldn't make it."
"But I was supposed to prove that I don't hate him," Lorelai whined.
"Trust me, Mom, you should be glad you missed it. If you'd gotten here in time, Gypsy might have forced you to hug him."
Lorelai sighed. "Oh well in that case, hallelujah! Thank god for the broken water heater." She paused. "I say we go get food."
"I second the motion," Rory agreed.
"Well I left the diner closed today so I could deal with Jess and everything," Luke said, "but I could whip up something for you guys in a few minutes."
"No actually, I was kind of thinking about going to Taylor's soda shoppe," Rory suggested.
"Oh yeah!!!" Lorelai agreed, enthusiastically. "I'm totally in the mood to bother Taylor. Let's go for it."
Luke rolled his eyes. "All right, see you guys tomorrow."
"Oh come on Luke," Lorelai said, grabbing his arm. "Come with us."
"Oh no," he said. "I don't do old fashioned junk food stores. I don't even like soda."
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Fine, then grab a head of lettuce from your place, and then sit with us at the soda shoppe while you eat it. Really, it'll be fun. You and Rory can mope about how Jess is gone, and you can watch me torment Taylor, and then the two of you can carry me home together when I'm too full to walk." Lorelai looped her arm through his, not really waiting for an answer. He had no choice; he was coming with them. Rory smiled to herself. Ever since they'd made up, they'd been extra flirtatious. Even more flirtatious than usual, and that was REALLY saying something.
Luke stopped short, hearing a familiar piece of music start to play over the loud speakers.
"Oh, God, not again," he complained.
"Oh suck it up," Lorelai said, dragging him toward the shoppe.
"He's playing the music at night now!" Luke cried. "He used to only play it in the mornings, but now he's doing it at night too. Next thing you know it'll be all day long, non-stop." He sighed. "And this same damn song every time. It's starting to get on my nerves."
Lorelai gasped. "Luke!!! Don't say things like that about the Beatles!"
"Yeah," Rory piped in. "If you're discovered as a hater of the Beatles, the town might go crazy and burn you at the stake or something."
Luke sighed. "I don't hate the Beatles," he said. "But it's just this one song. I mean, you try hearing this song every morning for a month or so, and then you tell me how much you still like it."
Rory smiled a little, opening the door to Taylor's Shoppe. "I like it," she said. "It brings back good memories." She fingered the silver pendant around her neck, humming along softly to the song as they walked.
Honey Pie
You are making me crazy
I'm in love but I'm lazy
So won't you please come home...
THE END ***************************************************
A/N: So that's it guys. Wow. I finished. I feel so nice and cleansed. I got that all out of my system. But I'm wondering... should I do a sequel? It would really just be a new story, focusing on this developing issue of Jess and his dad and how it affects his relationship with Rory, and then maybe expanding on this Luke and Lorelai thing? Should I do it? Lemme know in reviews, ok? Alright. I love you guys, I hope this happy ending was satisfactory. It was really hard to write! Yikes! But hopefully worth it.
Ciao
~Emaline
Song List:
Part 1: ~Honey Pie- The Beatles (On the White Album, not to be confused with another song by the Beatles called WILD honey pie. VERY different songs)
Part 2
~I'm beginning to see the light- Ella Fitzgerald
~This year's Love- David Gray
Part 3
No songs in this chapter (sorry)
Part 4
~Breathing- Lifehouse
~Yellow- Coldplay
Part 5
~Come Away with me- Norah Jones
Part 6
~Will you Still Love Me tomorrow- Ok the version that I meant to use is the ORIGINAL performed by the Shirelles. I know I know, Carol King did one too, but that was a few years later. There are a lot of covers, you choose which one you want.
Part 7
~Completely Pleased- Semisonic
~The following songs by the Misfits weren't used for lyrics, but were mentioned... anyone who's a punk/hardcore fan should check them out: We are 138, Hybrid Moments, Mommy can I go out and Kill tonight?
Part 8
No Songs sorry
Part 9
Confession- The Openers (this is a local, completely unknown band, so you probably wouldn't be able to find it online or anything... sorry)
Part 10
~The Second Day- Kendall Payne
Part 11
~Honest- Kendall Payne
Part 12
~Without you- The Kinks
~Wasting my time- Sam Phillips
Part 13
~Let Me In- Save Ferris
~Drive You Home- Garbage (I'm not actually a huge fan of all the songs I used in this story... most of them I only used because the lyrics applied to the story... But THIS song... it's incredible. Seriously. I totally recommend it. I give it five stars!)
~Walk away- Ben Harper
Part 14
~I dare you to run- Switchfoot
~If you want me to- Ginny Owens
~Honey Pie- The Beatles (once again...)
Happy
***********************************************************
Welcome to the planet, Welcome to existence
Everyone's here, everyone's here
Everybody's watching you now
Everybody waits for you now
What happens next? What happens next?
I dare you to run, I dare you to run
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to run, I dare you to run
Like today never happened
Today never happened before
Welcome to the fallout, Welcome to resistance
The tension is here, the tension is here
Between who you are and who you could be
Between how it is and how it should be
I dare you to run, I dare you to run
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to run, I dare you to run
Like today never happened, Today never happened
Maybe redemption has stories to tell
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell
Where can you run to escape from yourself?
Where you gonna go? Where you gonna go?
Salvation is here
I dare you to run...
**********************************************
"It's 11:30," Luke said, seeing Lorelai enter the diner. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?"
"Early lunch break. I had to get out of there. Ugh," Lorelai said, collapsing onto a stool by the counter. "I'm never gonna find love."
"Haven't we had this conversation already?" Luke asked, starting to make some coffee for her.
"Well now I'm even more convinced than last time," Lorelai said.
"What is it now?"
"Sookie and Jackson," she said. "They just got back from their appointment with 'Baby's Doctor', as they call it. They got a picture of the baby, and they won't stop gushing over it!"
"Sookie's your best friend," Luke said. "Shouldn't you be happy for her?"
"I am!!" Lorelai exclaimed. "But I can only take so much of the baby talk... dear god, the baby talk..."
Luke snickered. "What do want to eat?"
"A big fat greasy burger and fries please?"
Luke shook his head. "Someday I'm gonna make you eat a salad."
"And on that day I will stage a revolt, because that is simply inhumane."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Death by heart attack on a plate, coming right up."
"And don't forget the French fries!!!" Lorelai called as he went to give Caesar her order.
It was Thursday morning, and Lorelai was still worn out from the long party the night before. Rory seemed to have had a good time, and she'd even convinced her father to spend the night and head back to Boston the next day, so Lorelai was glad. She'd tried to talk to her after everyone went home and see how Rory felt about Jess' leaving, but Rory didn't seem to want to talk about it, so she had backed off.
But she still felt uneasy about the whole situation. There was something weird about Jess just up and leaving like this. It was so unresolved. On the one hand, she figured it would be better for both of them in the end. They'd both be able to move on more easily.
On the other hand, though, it could just be an easy out for both of them. Lorelai knew better than anyone that running away from one's problems and pain instead of dealing with them was never a good idea. She didn't want Rory to wake up one morning in 6 months and realize she was still heartbroken.
"Here's your burger," Luke said, handing her the plate.
"God bless you good man," she said with a grin before taking a bite. "So um... where's Jess?"
"At school," Luke said.
"Oh right," Lorelai chuckled a little. "Duh. I mean it's 11:30, of course he's at school." She paused. "Is he all packed?"
"He started yesterday," Luke said, "and he's gonna pack some more tonight. But I'm gonna send most of his stuff over there after he's gone."
"Oh yeah," Lorelai nodded. "That would make sense." She sighed. "Is he all right?"
"He's dealing," Luke said. "He's not exactly skipping through fields of wild flowers, but... he's gonna be ok." He paused. "How about Rory?"
Lorelai smiled a little. "She's doing an impressively good job of pretending she's good. But I know better." Lorelai sighed. "See this is why I'm so pessimistic about my future love life. Even if I do eventually find love, who's to say it's not gonna end horribly, with both of us miserable and worse off than we were before we met?"
"Not all love is doomed to end with misery," Luke said. "Ask some people who've been married a few decades. They'll tell you."
Lorelai took a long sip of coffee. "I want that," she said. "I want a marriage. Something stable, something I can count on, you know?"
"Well, marriages aren't always perfect," Luke said. "I mean haven't you ever heard of divorce?"
"Oh come on, Luke, make up your mind. One minute you're Marriage's biggest fan, and now you're putting it down? Pick one side and stick to it!"
Luke sighed. "Fine," he grunted. "Marriage is generally a good thing. GENERALLY."
"That's the spirit," Lorelai said. She chuckled a little," Hey, I have a kind of a wacky idea."
"You say it like this isn't always the case," Luke said.
"Stop being such a sour sport and listen to my crazy idea," Lorelai commanded. "Ok. You know how sometimes, kids who are friends make those pacts that are like 'if neither of us is married by the time we're 35, we'll marry each other'?"
"Yeah," Luke said. "What's your point?"
"Why don't we do that?" Lorelai suggested.
"Lorelai, you ARE 35," Luke said. "And I'm a little too busy to get married this week."
"Well we can change the year," Lorelai said. "So it'll be like a VERY last resort, obviously. Like, let's just agree to get married if neither of us has found someone by the time we're 45?" Luke still looked skeptical. "Oh come on," Lorelai whined. "We're both very attractive people, you and I. Chances are slim to none that we'll both be alone and miserable in ten years." She offered her hand. "Come on, just shake my hand, we'll make it official."
Luke made no move for her hand. "What if we drive each other crazy?"
"Wouldn't be anything new for us," Lorelai said. "Ok fine, how about this. When you come over for our movie night, we'll make it a trial run. You know, no crazy married couple stuff like kissing or talking about taxes or arguing about whose family we get stuck with for the holidays, but just normal stuff. Spending an evening together without any homicides or suicides." She sighed. "If it goes horribly awry, we'll just call the whole thing off, ok?"
Luke shook his head with a slight smirk. "Fine. Just don't expect me to bring you flowers or anything."
"Now there's something a girl loves to hear after she's asked a guy to marry her," Lorelai called as Luke walked into the back.
**************************************************
"How many cups have you had?" Luke asked.
"Hmm," Rory contemplated, her leg jittering. "I don't know. Lost count after 4."
Luke shook his head. "All right," he said. "That's it. I'm cutting you off."
"Come on Luke," Lane pleaded with him. "She graduated yesterday. Consider it a token of apology for not coming to the ceremony."
Luke sighed and started pouring, reluctantly. "It's not fair when you both gang up on me like that."
"Yeah well life's not fair," Rory said, picking up the cup. "Thanks for this."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Luke said. "Seriously though. No more." He walked back to the counter.
"Ok Rory," Lane said quietly. "You're really worrying me here. We've been here for almost 2 hours. You've had 6 cups of coffee, and you're eyes are glazed over. Seriously. You haven't blinked in at least 3 minutes."
"It's the caffeine," Rory said. "I don't think I've ever had this much in such a short period of time before." She took another gulp.
"Postponing this isn't gonna make it easier," Lane reasoned with her. "And I don't think the caffeine overload is gonna help much either."
"I don't wanna do it," Rory whined. "I'm scared."
"He's not gonna bite you," Lane said.
"How do you know? You don't even know him that well."
"Well he's never mentioned any deep admiration for Mike Tyson, so I think it's safe to rule out vicious biting as a reaction." She paused. "Come on, Rory. You said you wanted to say goodbye to him for real. If you don't do it now, you'll chicken out tomorrow, and then he'll just leave-"
"No," Rory insisted, standing up, suddenly determined. "I'm not gonna do it." She took one last gulp of coffee. "I'm going up." She strode away from the table towards the stairs to Luke and Jess' apartment.
"Luke," Rory said loudly as she walked past the counter without so much as pausing, "I'm going upstairs!!!"
"Um.... Ok?" Luke said, confused, watching her disappear behind the curtain.
Her heart was beating so fast because of all the caffeine, she couldn't stop. She didn't even think; she was just acting on instinct now.
She burst the door open, and Jess looked up from his packing, confused.
"Rory?" He asked. She didn't look up in acknowledgement. She walked straight over to him and his suitcase and started taking items of clothing and books out, putting them back in his dresser and back on his bookshelf.
"What do you think you're doing?" he asked.
"You're not leaving," she said, resolved, still not looking up from the task at hand.
"Oh come on, cut it out," he said, putting the books and things back in the suitcase.
"No!" She refused.
"What is the matter with you?" he asked. She wasn't acting like herself.
"I don't want you to leave," she said, finally stopping and establishing eye contact with him.
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
"I don't know how many other ways I can say it," she said. "But I'm not going to let you leave. I- I- I'll sabotage your car or something so it won't start!!!" she threatened.
"Yeah and I'm sure with all your great knowledge of cars, that'll work out great," he said.
"Stop looking at me like I'm crazy!" she whined.
"Why? You're sure acting it."
"I'm serious though," she said. "I don't want you to leave. Yeah, maybe I'm being selfish, but I don't care!!! I want you to stay here in Stars Hollow; I want you to blow off your father and your mother-I mean you hate them anyway, right? So start acting like it! Don't go to New York!!!"
"Rory, come on-"
"No, don't try to reason with me!!!" she yelled. "I made up my mind, I'm going to keep you here, no matter what it takes. If I have to lock you up in our basement, I'll do it, no problem-"
"Are you drunk or something?" he asked, incredulous.
"No!" she said. "Just a little hyped up on caffeine, that's all."
He sighed and shook his head. "That explains it."
"Explains what?" she asked. "The caffeine has nothing to do with it! I would still be doing this right now, even if weren't for my having consumed 6 cups of coffee downstairs," she said. "Except, I might not be talking so loudly, and I'd probably be blinking more often than I am. Should I be worried about that? Isn't that supposed to be dangerous for your eyes? I can't really remember, it's been a few years since biology, but I-"
"Relevancy is becoming an issue," Jess reminded her, trying not to raise his voice. He wanted to yell, but he knew he shouldn't. Everyone downstairs in the diner could probably hear them.
"Right. Sorry. I tend to ramble when I'm nervous or hyper or if I've had too much caffeine, and all three pretty much apply right now, so-"
"Come on," Jess said, heading towards the door.
"Come on where?" Rory asked, confused. "Where are we going?"
"Outside somewhere," he said. "I don't wanna talk about this here."
"Ok," Rory said. "Hold on a second, I'm going to empty your suitcase."
She headed toward the open suitcase on the bed, but Jess got to her first, grabbing her by the shoulders and steering her toward the door instead, Rory protesting the whole way. He steered her all the way through the diner and outside, and into Miss Patty's unlocked, and now empty, dance studio, Rory rambling the whole time. Finally, once he closed the door, he cut her off.
"What the hell are you trying to pull?!" he yelled.
Rory didn't understand why he was so mad all of a sudden. "I-I don't-"
"You do realize you're going to drive me out of my mind, right?" he asked. "I mean, you can't do stuff like this. Don't expect me to take you seriously when you're intoxicated with God knows how much coffee-"
"It's not the coffee," Rory insisted. "I'm being serious."
"Yeah right," Jess said. "Last time you were this hyper, you told me you wanted to abandon your dreams of being a reporter so you could go star in Chicago on Broadway."
"Well maybe I really did want that at the time," Rory said timidly.
"Come on, Rory," Jess said. "Let's be realistic here. Tomorrow morning, you're gonna wake up and feel like an idiot for doing this, and you're gonna say 'Hey Jess? Remember how I asked you to stay in Stars Hollow? Well I wasn't in my right mind, so just forget it. Drive Safe.' So let's just spare ourselves the embarrassment, and I'll go back to packing, you'll go back home-"
"No," Rory said, quieter this time. "I really mean it. I've been telling Lane that I want you to stay ever since last night when I found out you were leaving. So tomorrow morning when I wake up, I'm not going to feel like an idiot for doing this; I'm going to feel-"
"What the hell reason do I have to stay?!?!?!" he yelled.
"Me," Rory offered, tentative.
"Oh yeah, since things are so great between us right now," he said, sarcastically.
"Oh come on, Jess this is stupid!!!" She cried. "I-I love you!!!" he looked away, but she didn't give up. "That's right, I love you. And you love me, and this whole thing is just ridiculous! I mean, yeah, ok, so I started it by breaking up with you, but-can't I just-I dunno, take it back?"
"Great," Jess said sarcastically. "So we'll kiss and make up and live happily ever after; or at least until your mother finds something else wrong with me and convinces you that I'm not worthy of you-"
"Forget my mother," Rory said. "I'm not going to let her opinions have any bearing over mine whatsoever; not anymore." He didn't answer. He still wouldn't look at her. Her anxiety manifested itself as tears started welling in her eyes. "Look I'm sorry that I hurt you," she said quietly. "I really am. I was just... I dunno, I've never been in a relationship this intense before, I've never felt like this before; Dean was the only guy I ever dated before you, and I never felt this way about him-"
"I'm familiar with the history," Jess cut her off. "What are you getting at?"
She sighed. "I was just really scared. That's why I did it; it had almost nothing to do with my mother and her crazy, irrational disposition to find problems with you. I was just scared."
"And what are you saying?" Jess asked, his skepticism fading just a little. "That you're not scared anymore?"
"No I'm pretty much still terrified," Rory admitted. "But I'm not as scared of what could happen if you stay as I am of watching you leave tomorrow night."
He sighed, staring at the ground. He didn't want to be hard on her. He didn't want to have yelled, and he didn't want to walk away and pretend he didn't want her back. He DID want her back. More than anything. But how could he just turn around and let her kiss him and pretend it was all better? She thought she was scared, but what about him? He was scared out of his mind. He'd never felt like this before either, but he didn't know how to hurt her, and she obviously was capable of hurting him. If he got back into this, would it only be a matter of time before she hurt him again?
He just didn't want to be something in her life that she just got used to, like Dean. By the time he came along, Dean was just a part of her life that she didn't really need anymore, but didn't know how to get rid of. He didn't want to be that for her... she certainly was more than that to him.
But there was something in the idea of going back to the way things were that appealed to him. Hell, there were a LOT of things about that which appealed to him. And he'd never been so miserable in his life as he had been the past few days without her.
"Say something?" she whispered after a few moments.
He took a deep breath and turned toward her slowly. He didn't plan to tell her he would stay or anything... but he was tired of fighting with her. He just wanted her to know that he understood, and everything was ok between them. "I'm not so good with words, so you're a pretty tough act to follow." He smirked a little to show her he wasn't angry, and as she returned a grateful smile, all his strength to refuse her just disappeared.
"I'm so sorry," she said, stepping toward him. "I don't know what I can say to make it better-"
"Don't say anything," he said. "I get it."
She smiled and closed her eyes, leaning in to press her lips softly to his, her legs going weak at the mere closeness of him. But momentarily, it ended. He pulled away suddenly, and her eyes sprung open, bewildered.
"What am I doing?" he muttered to himself, taking a few steps away from her. She sighed. She'd figured it was too good to be true.
"What's the matter?" she asked cautiously.
He looked at the ground. "I'm still going to New York."
The words stung her like a thousand knives in the heart. Now even she wasn't enough to keep him in Stars Hollow. "I see," she managed to get out.
"I can't keep turning my life upside down for you, Rory," he said softly after a moment. "I've done it a few times before, and every time I did, I ended up getting hurt."
She nodded, biting her lip to keep from crying too much. "I know. I'm sorry." She turned to head toward the door, but his voice stopped her.
He barely thought before saying it... but as soon as the idea popped into his head, he knew it was what he wanted. "When I come back, you better not make me regret it this time."
She felt like she couldn't breathe as she turned back to him. "What do you mean?"
The corners of his lips curled up ever so slightly. "I'm gonna come back."
"After how long?" she asked.
He shrugged. "I dunno. A couple weeks I guess. Maybe less."
And now the waterworks came. She felt almost embarrassed to be crying at the mere thought that he wasn't going to leave her forever, but she didn't care enough anymore to let the embarrassment bother her. "Does this mean...?" she asked.
He rolled his eyes and nodded. "Yeah yeah yeah, we'll kiss and make up, pretend the whole ugly mess never even happened, blah blah blah." She grinned at him, and somehow, her legs managed to carry her body over to him, and her arms wrapped themselves around him so tightly, she was surprised she wasn't cutting off his circulation. She just closed her eyes and was thankful for the fact that he was hugging her back; she couldn't imagine how she'd managed to stay sane without touching him or kissing him for the 5 days they'd been apart.
She kissed him, excitedly. "You're not going to be sorry," she exclaimed. "I swear to God, you won't be sorry!" Jess chuckled. She looked just like a little kid who'd been given a new bike. "Really! I'll-I'll read any Hemingway book you want me to!! I'll take over shifts for you at the diner, and-oh!!! I'll make you cookies!!! Apparently, I make very good ones. And I- "
"While you're doing all this, when are you gonna have time for me?"
"I'll cut back on sleep," she said simply with a smile.
He snickered, and took her face in his hands to kiss her. He'd really missed being able to do that. Her kisses killed him.
But as the kiss deepened, he reluctantly pulled his face away from hers, still leaving his hands on her waist.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
He sighed. "I still don't know why I'm doing this," he said.
"Kissing me?" she asked.
"No," he said. "I know why I'm doing that. I don't know why I'm just caving in like this, though." He shook his head with a smile. "You're a very persuasive girl, ya' know that?"
She chuckled. "It was the threat to lock you in my basement that really made your mind up, wasn't it?"
"That and the promise of cookies," he joked with her.
Rory laughed. "You just have to face it, Jess," she teased him. "You're completely and totally whipped."
He rolled his eyes. "You're gonna pay for that one."
"Ok, now I'll make cookies AND brownies." She smiled and kissed him again, this time, not letting him pull away to voice his doubt. She wanted him to know there wasn't anything to doubt anymore. She wrapped her arms around his back, pulling him even closer to her, and they both fell completely into the kiss, his hands wandering up to her head and losing themselves in her silky long brown hair. After a minute or two, as his lips began planting kisses on her neck and cheek, she asked, "So you're really leaving tomorrow night?"
"That's the plan," he murmured, his lips barely leaving her skin.
"So that means this is our last night together for a couple weeks, right?"
He raised his head and looked at her, having a feeling he knew what she was getting at. "Yeah, that's true."
She smiled a mischievous smile, a twinkle in her eyes. "So I guess we'll just have to make the most of it, huh?"
He grinned. "Yeah, I guess so."
"Hartford?" she suggested.
""Well actually I was thinking we could go just over to the gazebo, give the whole town a show."
She snickered. "You're very crude, you know that?"
"What?" he said, playing innocent. "Really, they all lead very boring lives. They could use some entertainment."
She smiled and kissed him again quickly. "Do you wanna get your car keys, or shall I?"
"You do it," Jess said. "If I go, Luke'll give me the 20 minute lecture on safe driving and the whole deal."
"Ok," she said. "I'll get them in a second." She leaned in and kissed him again, and really had to force herself to pull away. "Ok, we're really gonna have to do something about those lips of yours," she said, walking toward the door. "They're much too kissable, and completely distracting."
"I'll throw away all my chapstick," he called after her, barely able to suppress his smile.
"It's a plan!" she called. "Go wait by the car for me!"
************************************************************************
How long have they been gone?
Lane glanced at the clock again. 7:35. Had they left at 7:20 or 7:25? She couldn't really remember. She tapped her foot nervously. She knew whatever was going on over at Miss Patty's between Rory and Jess was going to have a huge affect on her best friend's attitude for the next few months. Either they were fighting, which meant Jess would leave tomorrow as planned, and everything would be a huge sad mess... or SOMEHOW, she was convincing to stay.
The odds did seem to be out of Rory's favor here... or at least they would seem that way to anyone who didn't know them. Lane knew them, and she knew how Jess felt about Rory. He wasn't big on forgiveness usually... but he also wasn't good at turning her down. He had never been able to fully tear himself away from her in the past, no matter how bleak his chances with her looked, or how firmly he was told that he wasn't right for her.
Just when Lane was trying to work up the courage to go over to Miss Patty's and try to eavesdrop through the door, Rory came bustling into the diner. She didn't stop to look at Lane, so Lane didn't get a chance to see whether her facial expression was happy or sad. Rory made a beeline for the counter.
"Rory," Luke exclaimed, confused. "Where'd Jess go?"
He probably just left, Lane thought to herself, preparing herself for the worst. He got so mad that he just got in his car and headed for New York, without any of his clothes or anything.
"He's outside," Rory responded. She added tentatively, "Um, could I go upstairs and grab his car keys?"
Oh no, Lane thought. She was really going to try to sabotage his car like she'd threatened to before. Lane had thought she was just joking. Oh this was going to be a disaster.
"Why do want his keys?" Luke asked, suspicious.
"Just cuz... he asked me to get them for him."
"Ok, I guess its fine," Luke said, completely confused, peering out the window to see if Jess really was out there.
"Ok great, thanks!" Rory called, practically sprinting up the stairs. Frustrated and anxious beyond belief, Lane followed, not even bothering to ask if it was alright with Luke.
She found Rory frantically ripping Jess' room apart. "Messy punk," Rory murmured under her breath, looking in his dresser.
"What the hell is going on?!" Lane cried.
"Oh Lane!" Rory said, surprised to see her standing there. "I didn't hear you come in."
Lane spotted the car keys in clear vision on his bedside table and grabbed them quickly, dangling them just out of Rory's reach. "If you don't tell me what's going on, I won't give you the keys."
Rory chuckled a little. "He's not going to stay in New York."
"What?"
"He's leaving tomorrow night, and then he's gonna come back in a couple weeks."
Lane's eyes widened. "Does that mean you and he are--?"
Rory nodded, giddily. "100 percent back together."
Lane squealed with joy as the two girls hugged, ecstatic.
"Oh my Gosh I'm so excited for you!" Lane exclaimed. "It's not even my love life, and I can't stop smiling! My cheeks actually hurt from smiling too much."
Rory giggled. "I know it's unbelievable, isn't it? I mean... I can't believe he's actually gonna stay here for me."
Lane contemplated for a moment. "He's really whipped isn't he?"
Rory nodded. "Kinda, but don't mention it in front of him. Guys are very sensitive about these things."
Lane handed over the keys. "Here you go. Where are you guys headed?"
"Hartford."
"Where in Hartford?"
Rory smiled slyly. "Wherever."
"You two crazy kids," Lane joked, shaking her head. She knew exactly what they were up to.
Rory laughed. "I have to go, he's waiting by the car. But I'll tell you all about it tomorrow night ok?"
"You better," Lane said as Rory headed out the door.
**************************************************
"Hey Rory, did you find the keys ok?" Luke asked.
"Yeah, I got 'em," Rory replied.
She looks really happy, Luke thought. What happened?
"Are you guys going somewhere?"
"Yeah," she said with a smile. "Hartford."
"Where in Hartford?"
"Umm... bookstore?" she lied through her teeth.
"Yeah sure," Luke said, skeptic. "Just don't be back too late."
Rory nodded. "We won't. Oh and Luke?"
"Yeah?"
"I wouldn't bother trying to find boxes to send his stuff in," she said.
"What are you talking about?"
"He just doesn't need you to send his stuff to New York anymore, that's all." She grinned again, hurrying out the door. "Bye Luke!"
As she walked out of the diner, Jess looked up at her, his stomach jumping at the mere sight of her modest smile. She handed him the keys.
"Thanks," he said, going to unlock the door, but her hand on his arm stopped him.
"Hold on a second," she requested.
"What is it?" he asked.
"You're really sure about this, right?" she asked. "Because I don't want to find out in a month that you're still upset with me. Not that you wouldn't have the right to be, but-"
"Rory, it's forgotten, ok?" he smirked a little. "I think you've done more than your share of apologizing. Besides, if you can forgive me for all the times I screwed up, then I can sure as hell put this behind me-"
Rory laughed aloud. "What are you talking about? When have you screwed up?"
"Plenty of times."
"Name one."
"The time I crashed your car."
"Oh. Right."
Jess chuckled. "Not to mention the way I used to say I'd call and then never call you-"
"Please, that's NOTHING," Rory interrupted him. "Last year, I kissed you, and then ran of to another state for three months without so much as ONE phone call-"
"Well yeah, cuz you were with Dean then," he said. "I'm the one who went after you even when I knew you were with him-"
"Well it's not like I wasn't giving you mixed signals. I was flirting with you, it wasn't your fault-"
"No, at first you weren't flirting with me. I was just around all the time, and eventually you fell for me. Probably just because I wouldn't leave you alone," he smiled. She sighed.
"Fine then, let's just both agree that we've both screwed up numerous times."
"And we're both forgiven," Jess added.
"That's right," Rory said. "What's past is past, right?"
"Couldn't have said it better myself," Jess agreed. He kissed her. "Come on, it's getting late, let's hit the road."
************************************************************
When they got to the front desk at the motel, the clerk eyed them suspiciously. He knew he'd seen them before.
"Welcome back," he said.
Rory blushed obviously. "Oh. Um, thanks..."
"We need a room, please," Jess changed the subject.
"Sure thing," The clerk said, going to the computer. "Out-of-towners?" he asked, skeptically.
"That we are," Jess said before Rory had a chance to attempt a lie. She didn't work well under pressure like this.
"Where from?" The clerk asked. They didn't look old enough to be traveling alone together.
"New York city," Jess answered, taking Rory's hand in his to reassure her. He knew she was always nervous they were going to get caught.
"Yeah, New York," Rory piped in. "His parents-his family lives-I mean, his family is from there so-"
"We're having a family reunion," Jess cut her off. "Just wanted to get some alone time, my folks are staying in our apartment."
Rory nodded. "Yeah. What he said."
The clerk nodded, an amused smirk playing his lips. "I see. I hope our accommodations are satisfactory."
Rory nodded. "Oh yeah sure. I mean-hey, there's cable, right? What more could we ask for?" She laughed nervously.
"How's that room coming?" Jess asked, a little impatient. The clerk handed him a key.
"You're in 214," he said. "That'll be 40 dollars."
Jess pulled out his wallet and paid.
"Thanks a bunch," said the clerk. "Enjoy your stay."
Walking outside, Rory and Jess squeezed each other's hands; Rory did so to keep calm; Jess did so to keep from bursting out laughing.
"Oh my God," she murmured once they were outside. Jess chuckled. "Why are you laughing?" she asked.
"Because if I'd laughed in there, he would have known we were lying."
"That was not funny, that was embarrassing," Rory insisted.
"Oh come on," he said. "'There's cable, what more could we ask for?' You gotta admit, it was pretty funny."
A reluctant smile played her lips. "Ok. It was a little funny." Jess smiled victoriously. "But it was also a little disturbing," Rory added.
"How so?"
"I had no idea you were so good at lying," she teased, "I don't know if I'll ever be able to trust you again. I mean sure, you SAY you're working one night, but for all I know you're really out at some pub with a floozy in a tight skirt."
Jess draped an arm across her shoulders. "Nah, I wouldn't do that. Hanging out with floozies would be bad for my image."
"And dating a small town prep school girl isn't?"
"Well the girl's mother hates me, so that makes up for it," he joked, leading her toward the door to their room.
"You know," she began, turning towards him, putting her arms around his neck. "She probably won't hate you anymore."
"Yeah right," Jess chuckled. "We're talking about your mother, Rory. She thinks I'm a criminal, remember?"
"Well you sort of are a criminal," Rory said.
"Excuse me?"
"Well you know, what with the thievery and all."
"Hey, I returned all the stuff I took remember? So it wasn't really crime so much as it was... an elaborate prank."
Rory sighed. "The point is, my mother doesn't have some hidden agenda against you. She just wants me to be happy, that's all."
"Well are you happy?"
"As a clam."
"Good. So I guess we have nothing to worry about then, huh?"
"Yeah, you could say that." She smiled and pulled him closer to her for a kiss. She felt almost giddy to be able to kiss him again; it was just like their first few days together. Every little touch, every flirtatious smile, every kiss was exciting; it all gave her butterflies.
Never breaking the kiss, Jess fumbled with the keys and managed to get the door open.
"Home sweet home," he said, closing the door behind them.
"What time is it?" Rory asked.
Jess checked his watch. "8:15. What time do you have to be home?"
"I said 11:30 in the message I left my mom," she answered.
"Ok," he said. "We've got a few hours. There's no rush."
She smiled, relieved, and fell into another kiss. His fingers played with the hem of her shirt, and the way that his hands felt when they scarcely touched the bare skin of her back drove her crazy. Soon, she began tugging on the hem of his shirt, and he helped her take it off. They didn't have to go through the nervous banter that they had before. They both just felt so relieved to be back together; they didn't need to talk about it anymore. It was understood. They could just be together. It was all either of them wanted.
********************************************************
The pathway is broken, and the signs are unclear
And I don't know the reason why you brought me here
But just because you love me the way that you do
I'm gonna walk through the valley
If you want me to
Cuz I'm not who I was when I took my first step
And I'm clinging to the promise you're not through with me yet
So if all of these trials bring me closer to you
Then I will go through the fire
If you want me to
It may not be the way I would have chosen
When you lead me through a world that's not my home
But you never said it would be easy
You only said I'd never go alone
So when the whole world turns against me
And I'm all by myself
And I can't hear you answer
My cries for help
I'll remember the suffering
Your love put you through
And I will go through the valley
If you want me to...
***************************************************
"It's 11:32," Jess murmured through a kiss, eyeing his watch.
Rory sighed, and looked up at the house from where they stood on the lawn. "Well the only lights in the house that are on are in her room," she said. "That means she's not sitting in the living room waiting for me, which is a good sign."
Jess nodded. "Yeah, unless she's just watching us from her bedroom window with binoculars."
Rory chuckled. "No, her binoculars don't work," she said. "She dropped them out the window when she was trying to spy on Lane and I a couple months ago. She was convinced we were planning a surprise party for her birthday."
"Isn't her birthday in the middle of the summer?"
Rory nodded. "That's what she thought we were doing, just the same. But enough of that, back to the kissing please?"
Jess chuckled as she kissed him again. After a minute or so, he was so engrossed, he nearly forgot the issue of time. He eyed his watch again, and pried his lips away.
"11:36 and counting."
Rory sighed. "Ok." She kissed his cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow at 11?"
"Graduation doesn't start until 11:30," he said.
"I know," she said with a smile. "I wanna see you before it starts. Take a picture of you in your cap and gown, you know."
He rolled his eyes. "You HAD to remind me of the cap and gown didn't you?"
"Hey, you could always do what Zak in 'She's All That' did, and just go naked with a soccer ball."
"Brilliant idea." He kissed her again. "Bye."
"Bye."
Rory unlocked her door and went inside. She was about to head straight to her room and wait for her mother to seek her out, but decided instead to go up and see her. She found Lorelai's room a complete mess, with clothes and accessories tossed everywhere.
"Whoa," she said, stepping over a pile of clothes to get into the room. "What happened in here? Hurricaine Lorelai?"
Lorelai popped her head out of the closet with a smile. "Rory! You're home."
"Yeah, just got back," she said, sitting on the bed. "What are you doing?"
"Trying to pick out an outfit for Lane's graduation tomorrow." Lorelai replied. "What are you gonna wear? Cuz we wouldn't wanna clash."
"I was gonna wear that lavender dress with the straps and ruffles on the bottom."
"The Betsy Johnson Dress?" Lorelai asked. Rory nodded. "Ooo, fancy," Lorelai commented. She smiled slyly and added, "Who are you trying to impress?"
Rory sighed. "It's not about impressing anyone, I just wanna look nice. There are going to be a lot of pictures taken, and should I be in one, I'd prefer to look good."
Lorelai nodded. "Ok. That helps actually, because that will look very nice with my pink paisley vintage-y dress." She smiled. "Thanks."
Rory took a deep breath. "Mom, I um... I should tell you..." Lorelai looked up attentively.
"Yeah, honey?"
"Well when I left you that message saying I would be at a bookstore in Hartford tonight, I um... I didn't mention that I went with Jess."
"Oh," was all that Lorelai said.
"We're sort of... back together," Rory said. "Well not sort of. Completely. We're definitely, completely back together."
Lorelai smiled. "I figured as much."
"You did?"
"Oh please," Lorelai said with a chuckle, hanging her clothes back up in her closet. "'I'm going to a bookstore in Hartford'? The car was with me, and you sure didn't walk there. There's only one person in the world I can think of who would voluntarily take you to Hartford for the sake of books."
Rory smiled a little. "You don't seem very mad."
Lorelai sighed. "That's probably because I'm not."
"Really?"
"I'm not mad. I just want you to be happy, sweetie. And from what Luke said about the look on your face before you left, you're a lot happier when you're with Jess."
Rory smiled. "I am," she said.
"Good," Lorelai said. "So he's really staying?"
Rory nodded.
"Wow," Lorelai commented. "What made him change his mind?"
Rory sighed. "I did, I guess."
Lorelai smiled, completely touched that any boy would care enough about Rory to make such a huge change in plans just to be in close proximity to her. "Wow. That just goes to show you, the Gilmore women know what they want, and they will not be denied." Rory nodded, but an awkward silence filled the air as Lorelai continued putting her clothes away. After a moment, she threw the dress in her hands onto a nearby chair.
"You know, this can wait till tomorrow," she said. "What do you say you and I stay up and eat some ice cream out of the pint and have a girl's night in? It's been a while since we've had a real talk, you and I." She smiled. "I'll even give you a manicure and pedicure so you can look extra special for your boyfriend's graduation tomorrow."
Rory smiled. "Well you know I can never refuse ice cream out of the pint." She stood, and Lorelai put her arm around Rory's shoulder's as they both headed down the stairs, talking and laughing like nothing had ever changed. Everything finally felt right again.
**************************************************************************
"I look like an idiot," Jess said, taking his cap off.
"Oh come on," Rory said, taking it from his hands and putting it back on his head. "It's not that bad. It makes you look studious."
"Well I'm not studious, so no wonder it looks all wrong." He took it off again.
"If you don't complain about it until after the ceremony, then I promise I won't make you wear it in ANY of the pictures I take." She offered her hand. "Deal?"
"Add a kiss to that, and you've got a deal," he said. She smiled, taking his face in her hands, and kissed him. He nodded. "Ok then. It's settled."
She smiled with a sigh as they started walking side by side toward the door. The ceremony would start soon, and Rory had to go to her seat. "It's nice being able to do that again."
"I agree," he said. "After graduation, we can do that some more."
"Really?" she asked. "You don't have plans or anything?"
He shook his head. "Just packing," he said. "I was supposed to pack last night, but... I got a little distracted by some crazy girl with too much coffee in her system. I'm sure Luke wouldn't mind if you 'Helped me pack'."
Rory smiled. "I'd love to." She kissed him again quickly. "I have to go to my seat. But hey, you'll probably get sick of hearing this after the ceremony, so I wanna be the first one to say it. Congratulations."
He tried to play it off as no big deal. "Oh come on-"
"No, stop it. You should be proud. You could have flunked out last year. I can't even imagine how much work you must have done to catch up in time to graduate." She took his cap out of his hands and placed it on his head again. "Seriously. Congratulations."
Jess watched her walk down the hall and into the auditorium. After she was out of sight, he glanced in one of the mirrors that had been set up for the graduating kids in the hallway. The outfit did look kind of stupid... but it didn't look as out of place on him as he'd expected it to. He was a really different person than he was when he'd first moved there. He'd become somebody that people were actually capable of missing, somebody worth keeping around. All his life he'd been an incredibly attractive person... but it wasn't until then that he was able to look in the mirror and actually like the person he saw.
*******************************************************************
"You're absolutely sure?"
"Positive," Jess answered. "No matter what happens, I'll be back in Stars Hollow 2 weeks from today, if not sooner."
"Well how can you be so sure?" Rory challenged him. "What if he's as persuasive as I am?"
Jess chuckled. "Nobody's as persuasive as you, Rory."
She was stalling. The walk from the diner to Gypsy's, where his car was being checked for problems, had never taken so long as it was taking today. She even dragged her feet, in vain hopes to prolong their time together before he drove off. Graduation had ended hours ago, and they'd spent the whole evening until then up in Luke's apartment talking, kissing, laughing, and just trying to make up for lost time. They could have gone to the graduation party that Lane and Dave had gone to, but they'd decided to hang out alone instead.
"Seriously, though," she said. "What if you get there, and he's the ideal father that you've always wanted?"
"Rory, there's very little chance that I'll get there and he'll be Iggy Pop."
"Iggy Pop is your ideal father?"
"Hey, he was cool, he was a phenomenal musician, he was one of the forefather's of punk, and he was well-read."
"He rolled around in his own blood on stage."
"Well nobody's perfect." He grinned. "Who'd you expect my ideal father to be? Mister Rogers?"
"No," Rory said. "I'm just saying, what if he turns out to have a good reason for you to stay?"
"What would be a good reason for me to stay?"
"I dunno; he could offer you all kinds of stuff, like... money, or a place to stay....."
"So my ideal father is a Genie from a magic lamp?"
"Well what if he's rich?" Rory asked, ignoring his amused comments.
"Then he can buy some other kid's love," Jess replied.
"Then what if he's really nice?"
"YOU'RE really nice," Jess said. "One really nice person in my life is sufficient, thanks."
Rory rolled her eyes. "So you're telling me that even if you're father turns out to be nice, AND rich, AND the kind of guy who can promise you all sorts of things that you want-"
"I will still be on your front porch in two weeks, yes. That is what I am telling you."
"Even if he's a world famous author?"
"Yes."
"And if he offers you a quarter of a million dollars worth in books?"
"Still."
"Even if he offers you a brand new pony in exchange for staying?"
"Even then." Jess said. "Well, except then I would show up in two weeks on your lawn with a brand new pony as a gift for you, cuz Lorelai told me you always wanted one."
"You stole the hypothetical pony that your hypothetical ideal father gave you?" She asked, faking shock.
"Hey, you're the one who called me a thief, I'm just trying to live up to your expectations," he said.
Rory sighed as they neared the car. Luke was there, filling the tank with gas, talking to Gypsy. Rory tugged on Jess' arm to make him stop walking before they got too close.
"What is it?" he asked. She didn't answer; she just kissed him.
After a minute, he pulled away a little and smiled at her. She didn't smile.
"What's wrong?" he asked. "You look worried."
"I am," she said. "I know it's stupid, because you promise you're coming back... but I can't help it."
He kissed her to comfort her anxiety. "Hey, you know how to get to New York. Last time you thought I was gone for good, you went and got me. It worked then, it'll work again."
Feeling slightly reassured, she let his hand on her back lead her slowly towards the car again. "And you won't get annoyed with me if I call you in New York every day?"
"Why should I?" he asked. "I call you every day here in Stars Hollow, and we're only a 5 minute walk away from each other." He smiled. "Besides, I'll need you to keep me updated on all the exciting stuff going on in town," he said sarcastically.
Rory snickered. "Cuz lord knows you're more concerned about the everyday town gossip than anything."
"Damn straight," he played along.
"You got everything you need?" Luke asked as they neared the car.
"Pretty much," Jess said. "Is the car ok?" he asked Gypsy.
"Well considering it was a Grade A piece of crap when I sold it to you, it's amazing," Gypsy responded. "You're all set to go."
Jess nodded. "Just give me a minute," he said to no one in particular, turning back to Rory.
"Well," she said, trying to be optimistic. "Two weeks isn't that long, right?"
"I think we'll manage," he said. "And as soon as I get back, I'll show up on your front porch-"
"With or without a pony," Rory added with a smile.
"Do I wanna know?" Luke whispered to Gypsy.
"Probably not," she replied bluntly.
"Hey by the way," Rory said, "If it turns out that your father actually IS Iggy Pop, make sure you call me and let me know. Cuz in spite of that whole rolling-around-in-his-own-blood-on-stage thing, I still do have a lot of respect and admiration for that guy."
He chuckled and kissed her quickly before opting for a hug instead. It felt weird kissing her in front of Luke.
"I love you," she whispered so softly, nobody but him could hear it.
"I love you too," he replied, not ready to let go of her yet.
Luke looked up at the dark sky. "It's getting pretty late, you should hit the road soon."
Jess sighed. "Fine, fine," she said. He pulled away from her a little, but she kissed his cheek before he got too far.
He and Luke faced each other, both unsure of what they were supposed to do.
"So uh..." Luke began, "I guess just-ya' know, good luck, and drive safe, and all that..."
"Yeah, thanks," Jess replied. They stood silently, staring at their shoes for a bit before Luke awkwardly opened his arms, seeming to suggest a hug.
"Oh man," Jess said, rolling his eyes.
"Oh come on!" Gypsy said, pushing them together into a quick hug. Rory giggled. It was about time.
Jess turned back to Rory. "Hey," he said, "It might be pretty late when I get there, so-"
"I'll still be up," she assured him. "You can call."
He nodded. "Ok."
"So... I guess it's time to say goodbye," she said.
"Not goodbye," he corrected her. "Say 'see you in two weeks'." He smirked. "As a future journalist, you really should learn to be more accurate."
She smiled as he got into his car. "See you in two weeks."
He didn't answer. He just smiled and started the ignition.
"Have fun," Luke offered before Jess hit the gas and headed off towards the interstate highway. Rory and Luke stood and watched, long after the car was out of sight.
"You think he'll like his dad?" Rory asked him.
Luke shrugged. "Who could say? I mean the guy deserted him. I think it's not so much a question of Jess liking him as it's a question of whether or not he'll forgive him."
Rory smiled. "Well Jess is capable of forgiveness," she said. "Believe me."
Hearing yelling in the distance, Luke looked around confused. "Do you hear that?"
Rory listened hard, but the noise got closer quickly. "She's coming," Rory said.
Moments later, Lorelai came into view, running faster than any woman in high heels had ever managed to run in the past.
"Wait!!!" she called. "I'm coming!!! I said I would and I'm here..." she trailed off as she neared Rory and Luke, seeing no car anywhere around. "Oh damn!" she said. "I'm too late."
"Late for what?" Luke asked.
"I wanted to be here for Jess," Lorelai said. "For moral support. I wanted to see him off and wave a handkerchief so he'd see us waving in his rearview mirror."
"She wanted to prove she really doesn't hate him," Rory explained to Luke.
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, that's pretty much what it comes down to." She sighed. "I tried to get here in time, I really did, but then Michel started acting up, and then there was a problem with the water heater, and customers kept calling the front desk about why their showers were spewing ice water-"
"It's ok mom," Rory reassured her. "I'm sure Jess wasn't all too heartbroken that you couldn't make it."
"But I was supposed to prove that I don't hate him," Lorelai whined.
"Trust me, Mom, you should be glad you missed it. If you'd gotten here in time, Gypsy might have forced you to hug him."
Lorelai sighed. "Oh well in that case, hallelujah! Thank god for the broken water heater." She paused. "I say we go get food."
"I second the motion," Rory agreed.
"Well I left the diner closed today so I could deal with Jess and everything," Luke said, "but I could whip up something for you guys in a few minutes."
"No actually, I was kind of thinking about going to Taylor's soda shoppe," Rory suggested.
"Oh yeah!!!" Lorelai agreed, enthusiastically. "I'm totally in the mood to bother Taylor. Let's go for it."
Luke rolled his eyes. "All right, see you guys tomorrow."
"Oh come on Luke," Lorelai said, grabbing his arm. "Come with us."
"Oh no," he said. "I don't do old fashioned junk food stores. I don't even like soda."
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Fine, then grab a head of lettuce from your place, and then sit with us at the soda shoppe while you eat it. Really, it'll be fun. You and Rory can mope about how Jess is gone, and you can watch me torment Taylor, and then the two of you can carry me home together when I'm too full to walk." Lorelai looped her arm through his, not really waiting for an answer. He had no choice; he was coming with them. Rory smiled to herself. Ever since they'd made up, they'd been extra flirtatious. Even more flirtatious than usual, and that was REALLY saying something.
Luke stopped short, hearing a familiar piece of music start to play over the loud speakers.
"Oh, God, not again," he complained.
"Oh suck it up," Lorelai said, dragging him toward the shoppe.
"He's playing the music at night now!" Luke cried. "He used to only play it in the mornings, but now he's doing it at night too. Next thing you know it'll be all day long, non-stop." He sighed. "And this same damn song every time. It's starting to get on my nerves."
Lorelai gasped. "Luke!!! Don't say things like that about the Beatles!"
"Yeah," Rory piped in. "If you're discovered as a hater of the Beatles, the town might go crazy and burn you at the stake or something."
Luke sighed. "I don't hate the Beatles," he said. "But it's just this one song. I mean, you try hearing this song every morning for a month or so, and then you tell me how much you still like it."
Rory smiled a little, opening the door to Taylor's Shoppe. "I like it," she said. "It brings back good memories." She fingered the silver pendant around her neck, humming along softly to the song as they walked.
Honey Pie
You are making me crazy
I'm in love but I'm lazy
So won't you please come home...
THE END ***************************************************
A/N: So that's it guys. Wow. I finished. I feel so nice and cleansed. I got that all out of my system. But I'm wondering... should I do a sequel? It would really just be a new story, focusing on this developing issue of Jess and his dad and how it affects his relationship with Rory, and then maybe expanding on this Luke and Lorelai thing? Should I do it? Lemme know in reviews, ok? Alright. I love you guys, I hope this happy ending was satisfactory. It was really hard to write! Yikes! But hopefully worth it.
Ciao
~Emaline
Song List:
Part 1: ~Honey Pie- The Beatles (On the White Album, not to be confused with another song by the Beatles called WILD honey pie. VERY different songs)
Part 2
~I'm beginning to see the light- Ella Fitzgerald
~This year's Love- David Gray
Part 3
No songs in this chapter (sorry)
Part 4
~Breathing- Lifehouse
~Yellow- Coldplay
Part 5
~Come Away with me- Norah Jones
Part 6
~Will you Still Love Me tomorrow- Ok the version that I meant to use is the ORIGINAL performed by the Shirelles. I know I know, Carol King did one too, but that was a few years later. There are a lot of covers, you choose which one you want.
Part 7
~Completely Pleased- Semisonic
~The following songs by the Misfits weren't used for lyrics, but were mentioned... anyone who's a punk/hardcore fan should check them out: We are 138, Hybrid Moments, Mommy can I go out and Kill tonight?
Part 8
No Songs sorry
Part 9
Confession- The Openers (this is a local, completely unknown band, so you probably wouldn't be able to find it online or anything... sorry)
Part 10
~The Second Day- Kendall Payne
Part 11
~Honest- Kendall Payne
Part 12
~Without you- The Kinks
~Wasting my time- Sam Phillips
Part 13
~Let Me In- Save Ferris
~Drive You Home- Garbage (I'm not actually a huge fan of all the songs I used in this story... most of them I only used because the lyrics applied to the story... But THIS song... it's incredible. Seriously. I totally recommend it. I give it five stars!)
~Walk away- Ben Harper
Part 14
~I dare you to run- Switchfoot
~If you want me to- Ginny Owens
~Honey Pie- The Beatles (once again...)