A/N: Okay, so I still have a lot more to update before I start this. But this thing keeps running around in my head! I have to write it and get it out, otherwise I will forget it. This is an AU story. What if Rory and Jess had known each other all their lives and been best friends. This is different from lots of other stories like this. Anyways, every chapter is named after a Lifehouse song (as is the title) because the songs gave me the idea for the story in the first place! I will update my other stuff soon.
Thanks to my lovely beta, hallon!
Summary: They've been a trio of friends since 3rd grade; Lane, Rory, and Jess. The two, Rory and Jess, have been inseparable since they were three. Liz's mother died during birth, and Jimmy still left. Luke took Jess in, and has raised him the whole time. Jess is still his literate, sarcastic self, without the beer and smoking. Lane has known for a long time that Jess likes Rory, but Rory is blind to it.
SPIN
Prologue
November, 1987
"They seem to get along," Sookie said to Lorelai, tilting her head at the two 3-year-olds playing in the daycare center.
"So, Jess is Luke's nephew? The Luke who runs that diner?" Lorelai asked.
"Yeah. His mom died giving birth, and no one's seen the dad. Luke is keeping him," Sookie said softly to Lorelai.
"Oh," Lorelai replied. The best friends were silent. "What kind of food is at the diner?"
"Diner food," Sookie shrugged. "I dunno."
"Good coffee?" Lorelai asked.
Sookie laughed. "Oh yeah."
"Huh. We'll see about that," Lorelai smiled faintly. She gave a sigh. "15 minutes here and she's already made a friend."
The young, beginning chef laughed. "We should go back to the Inn," she said to her friend.
September, 1990
"Boo!" The 7-year-old blonde popped up behind Rory. She jumped and gave a shriek.
"Scared ya!" Chuck Presby laughed crudely. The dark-haired 6-year-old bent down to get the book lying in the playground dirt, but the taller boy beat her to it.
"Bridge to what?" He read with a confused face. He stuck his tongue out at her as he waved it around. "You're such a geek Gilmore!"
"Give me back my book Chuck," Rory firmly said.
The bully whacked her over the head with it, then lifted it up. "Get it if you can!"
"Give it back!" The small brunette jumped up to reach it. Chuck laughed and lifted it higher. An also small, dark-haired boy came over at the sight of the jerky blond teasing his best friend.
"Give it back to her," he growled.
The taller kid looked over to Jess, still holding the book high over Rory's head as she bounced repeatedly to get it.
"Why should I?" Chuck spat back, dropping the book and pushing the young Gilmore away. Rory sprawled onto the ground, tears coming into her eyes as she grasped her knee, and Jess's face tightened. Before the large bully could acknowledge what happened, the small boy knocked him hard into the monkey bars. Chuck was left breathless for a moment, then got up quickly, pushing Jess back. Jess threw a punch at his face as a teacher ran towards the fighting pair. The two boys were separated, and the teacher turned to Chuck, whose nose was bleeding. Jess snuck over to Rory with a smirk on his face. He sat next to her as she wiped the dirt off her leg, wincing when she touched her ankle. She had sprained it.
"You should have kicked him in the balls," Jess told her.
She turned pink. "I would've gotten in trouble," she meekly said, then smiled faintly.
The teacher made a point of dragging Chuck to the nurse. Chuck stuck out his tongue to the two and Jess threw (with amazing accuracy) a small rock at the back of his head.
"Mr. Mariano," a shadow cast over them as the principal hovered. Jess glanced up first; it was the fifth time that week he'd gotten in trouble. And it was Wednesday.
"Mr. Mertin," Jess said mockingly.
The principal frowned angrily. "You will be joining Mr. Presby in my office; after his nose stops bleeding," he emphasized the last part. Jess smirked and Rory threw a glare at him.
"Luke is gonna get so mad," she hissed.
"Somebody's in trouble," someone said in a singsong voice.
"Mr. Mariano. NOW."
He grabbed Jess's arm and started walking him into the building. Rory watched for a moment when Jess threw an object at her. She jumped in surprise, but caught it just between her fingertips; his last bottle of super glue.
April, 1997
"Mama is praying for your soul," she told Jess.
"And why is that?" Rory laughed.
The other two joined into the laughter. "I was listening to Metallica last week, and somehow she knows," Jess rolled his eyes.
"Oh yeah, I need my book back," Rory said.
The group of three sat on the bridge, which had become their after school hangout. It was Friday though, which meant a movie night later at Luke's or the Crap Shack, which they had so lovingly called the Gilmore house.
"Which one?" Jess asked.
"Slaughter-House Five," she replied.
"I'm not done with it," Jess shrugged.
Rory rolled her eyes. "I know, but I'm doing my book report on it, and I only have one copy."
"Buy another."
"I can't." Rory said.
"Maybe I'm doing my book report on that too," the dark-haired teen smirked.
"You can't. Mrs. Garrett said everyone has to do a different book." Rory rolled her eyes.
"Choose another book."
"I'm doing that book!"
"But I'm reading it."
"But it's mine."
"But I'm reading it."
"I bought it."
"With whose money?" His smirk grew.
Rory frowned. She then spotted the book in his bag, and dived for it quickly.
"Hey!" Jess said, and they jumped for the book. The two conked heads and Lane stifled a laugh.
"Smooth," she said. Rory and Jess rubbed their heads.
"Damn," Jess laughed. "You have a hard head."
Rory shoved his chest. "Shut it." She giggled a little.
Lane watched the two with raised eyebrows as they shoved each other playfully.
"I've got to go," Rory looked down at her watch. "I told my mom I'd meet her at Weston's at 4," she said. She grabbed her stuff, then turned to Jess, a playful glare on her face.
"You're buying me another," she threatened.
"As you wish," Jess smirked.
Rory turned and ran off the bridge and Jess turned back to Lane.
"What?" He asked Lane, who was looking at him suspiciously.
"You like like Rory, don't you?"
Jess blinked, but glanced down. "I dunno what you're talking about," he said without missing a beat.
Lane rolled her eyes at his evasive action. "You do."
"Hey, isn't today Tofu day? We should go get something at Luke's.," Jess changed the subject.
Lane wrinkled her nose. "Oh yeah."
January 2000
"How did you get me to come to this again?" Jess sarcastically asked.
"Katie Fendermen invited me to her party. And I don't really know anyone, so I am NOT going alone."
"So drag the decoy instead," he scoffed playfully.
"Lane will be coming in an hour," Rory rolled her eyes.
They slipped on their ice skates and got up slowly. The two balanced on the rails for support.
"It doesn't explain how you got me here," Jess said.
"I used all my wit and charm to convince you, of course," Rory joked.
"Of course," Jess scoffed. He took a cautious step onto the ice. "You know, the last time I skated, we were five and your mom-"
"-let go of you on crack the whip and you crashed into the side of the rink and sprained your wrist. I know, I know!" Rory laughed. "You're so dramatic sometimes," she put her hand on his shoulder and stepped out completely on the rink. "Ready," she asked Jess, who was standing with one foot on the cement ground and the other on the ice.
"No."
She grabbed him and pulled him onto the ice anyways. He slipped a little, but Rory steadied him by taking his arm. They scooted over the ice slowly.
"What kind of nut has an ice skating party in the dead of winter," Jess scoffed.
"Be nice," she elbowed him. He was unbalanced by the sudden movement, and fell on the ice, grabbing Rory's arm and pulling her down with him.
"Ah!" She gave a little shriek. The two collapsed onto the frozen water and laughed,
"It's your fault," Jess chuckled.
"You're the one who grabbed my arm!" Rory pointedly said, stifling a flow of giggles.
"You shouldn't have elbowed me," he laughed.
They laughed together for a moment.
"We probably look like idiots," Rory said. Jess sat up and tried, unsuccessfully, to get up. Rory sat up as well, and the two awkwardly got up. Two boys whizzed past them, and they retreated to the safety of the nearest corner.
"God, it's cold," Rory said, breathing on her hands to warm them up, then stuffing them in her coat pockets.
"Where are your gloves?" Jess asked.
"My mom stole 'em," she gave a little laugh.
Jess pulled off his own gloves (upon the insistence of Luke had he brought them, but now, he was thankful) and handed them to Rory.
"What are you doing?" Rory asked.
"You can use them."
"It's cold."
"Not much." He shrugged, a smirk forming on his face. Rory took the black gloves and slipped them on, her hands instantly warmed.
"What a gentlemen," Rory said, flashing him a brilliant smile.
"Hey," a blonde girl glided up to the two, spraying them with ice. "Sorry," she smiled.
"Hi Katie. Happy birthday." Rory gave a smile back.
Jess gave a small grunt of acknowledgement, and Rory kicked his ankle. "Happy birthday," he muttered.
"Thanks. You guys having fun?" Katie asked.
"Yeah, I haven't been to an ice rink in forever," Rory kindly said.
"Great." The girl smiled. "I'm off!" She said, sailing past them to her other guests.
"Good boy," Rory patted him on the head like a dog.
"I'm going," he said teasingly as he shakily skated away.
"Hey!" Rory called out. Jess turned in time to see a runaway Rory crash into him. He yelped as they hit the ground. For a split second, Rory was on top of Jess. They locked eyes, and her dark hair fell over him. Rory flushed and she scrambled off of him.
Jess pulled himself up as well. They stood frozen a moment before a voice called them.
"Rory! Jess!"
They turned and saw a dark-haired Korean girl waving from the entrance of the rink.
March 2000
Very mockable music blasted from a stereo system as the party went on slowly. It was known that freshmen parties sucked, because the kids were still kids, and didn't know music, or how to throw a party. Rory and Jess sat in the corner of a couch, leaning back as they each held books. Rory held Hemingway, while Jess was struggling through "The Fountainhead". Lorelai had encouraged Rory to go to her first unchaperoned party, but the night was uneventful. Lane was unable to come, so Rory had dragged Jess along. The party hosts were trying to hold up the party with a game of 7 minutes in Heaven. A crowd cheered as a pair came out of the closet. They were hooting like drunken idiot, without any alcohol at the party. The hosts were randomly pulling names out of a hat.
"Whoa! Rory Gilmore and Jess Mariano, step ON UP!" A surfer dude roared.
The friends looked up quickly at the sound of their names being called. Before they could acknowledge anything, they were dragged to the closet and thrown in.
The door closed and the best friends stood in the dark closet awkwardly. Light came through door in horizontal lines.
"Good thing I'm not claustrophobic." Rory joked, feeling strange at being trapped in a closet with him.
Jess gave an awkward laugh. "Next time, we should sit further from the closet." The closet was awfully small, and they were a little too close for comfort. "I can't get through the book." Jess said.
"The Fountainhead is a classic! You have to!" Rory replied.
"Ayn Rand is a political nut," he dryly said, a small grin on his face.
"But no one could write a 40-page monologue like she could," Rory fired back. "Ernest is putting me to sleep."
"You're the one talking about classics! For Whom the Bell Tolls is a classic." Jess teased.
"I nodded off reading it."
They were silent once again, and the crowd outside was cheering madly. Blue met brown, and Jess started to lean towards Rory. She felt her face turn red, and subconsciously raised herself on tiptoes to reach his lips. As she closed her eyes, his lips brushed against hers. They were warm and soft and she leaned closer.
Suddenly, they jumped back, as if waking up from a trance. Jess opened his mouth to speak, but the closet door flung open, and there were groans of disappointment at the lack of action.
"I'm just gonna-"
"Yeah, I-"
They scurried out of the party and in opposite directions.
"Wait-so...I'm sorry-so you and Jess kissed!" Lorelai stared wide-eyed at her daughter.
"Mom," Rory half whined. She tried to focus on the movie, but couldn't.
"Wait-so...I'm sorry-so you and Jess kissed!" Lorelai stared wide-eyed at her daughter.
"My baby got kissed." Lorelai said playfully, yet surprised.
Rory didn't say anything. She and Jess were just friends. They had always been just friends...
"Who kissed who?"
She hesitated. "He kissed me," Rory replied, trying to be nonchalant about it.
Lorelai gave a small smile and enveloped her daughter in a hug. "You know, when you guys were 4, and at that age where boys could sleep over a girl's house without it being weird, you guys fell asleep on the couch watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory."
Rory didn't say anything. She couldn't get the feel of his lips over hers out of her head.
"It was soooo cute."
The young Gilmore couldn't get the image out of her head. His face as he leaned toward her, his warm breath, his dark hair falling over his eyes.
"Ror?" Lorelai asked, nudging her daughter. But the young teen was already asleep, and dreaming.
A/N: What I was trying to with this prologue was to get you to understand the friendship of Rory and Jess, and of the three, and how the tension was building between them. The last part builds for the first chapter that is coming. For this wonderful piece of writing, I expect reviews! Please? I so so so love reviews. So please, click the little blue button below. Tell me your thoughts. Any criticism? Advice? Tell me!